Like weathered look, but want to preserve the deck board ends better.

Live in Canada and am re-doing the horizontal deck boards as the ends are rotten. The boards were not treated at all 10+ years ago. Subsequent I read that the boards would have survived alot better if the ends were dipped. Makes sense as the grain is the most exposed there.
I like the gray weathered look and I also don't want to have to do ongoing maintenance afterwards, so UV protection is not that important.
What product would you recommend as a preservative.
Thanks in advance,
John