Decks, Patios, Porches and Docks - Sealing Old Wood Bench

i have an old wood bench that's at least 50 years old and i'm thinking of putting it on my front porch, which is covered on the top. it's been in my basement for many years and i thought i would clean it up and it would look nice on my porch. would it be safe to put a wood sealer on it and keep it on a porch when it hasn't been exposed to elements for many years? i just wanted to put it to use instead of collecting dust. i would appreciate any advice someone could give me.

What type of finish is currently on it?

A spar urathane/varnish would probably be a good coating to use. Sealing everything on the bottom side also, would help prevent the wood from sucking up any moisture in the air.

thanks for your advice, i'll let my husband know. the bench came with the house so it's been in the basement since the 1950's and has dust all over it. but it still looks good. it's not raggedy looking at all. i'm not sure what's on it though. we're not the original owners.

More than likely it will be ok to coat it with a spar poly. Clean it up and test on an inconspicuous area , sand lightly first.

I have a similar issue with a rocker not as old. it's on a screened in porch year round (New England)
I was thinking about using tung oil? If I use the spar urethane, how will it be to maintain? sand and refinish every year? every other year?
thanks!

I haven't used much tung oil.

Spar urathane should hold up fine on a rocker in a covered porch. The 2 main things that kill the finish is sun and rain, I would assume both would be minimal.