Once your okoume panels are safely home, they need sealing with either (eponymous) sealer or a 1:4 mix of white spirit and yacht varnish as I've used here. Always keep the area well-ventilated, and stop if you see over-sized pink rabbits.
In fact I've done this in my 'sterile' manufacturing facility, where the air is filtered so no particle larger than two microns can be found.
There's a nest of ants though.
