Abstract: Waterborne penetrating coating compositions and a method for applying the coating compositions to wood surfaces are disclosed. The coating compositions include a resin component comprising a first maleinized linseed oil having a low molecular weight in the range of about 1,000 to 3,000, a second maleinized linseed oil having a medium molecular weight in the range of about 4,000 to 8,000 and a medium-long oil length water-reducible alkyd resin, and a solvent component comprising water and propylene glycol tertiary butyl ether (PTB) as a coupling solvent. The coating compositions also preferably include an alkaline solubilizer for neutralizing the resin component and an aliphatic hydrocarbon for controlling evaporation of the solvent component after the coating component is applied to the wood surface.