Sorry...I did mis-remember the exact way PEG worked. It's been years since I read about it. I did go to some old newsgroup archives and sample some of the many comments, and found this to be the basic opinion.

"It's a solid white material, somewhat like a wax. It replaces the water molelules in the wood and prevents moisture exchange with the air. You must keep the PEG warm or it will become a solid again. It was originally developed for woodworking to treat gun stocks. It works but it is a long tedious process
and most people find it is unnecessary. By using good techniques - even
wall thickness when the vessels are first rough turned, allowing about ten
per cent of overall diameter to determine wall thickness, and slow drying
with one side coated with log sealer or latex wax - PEG isn't a
particularly good or useful material for the average vessel. And you can
really use only oil finishes since PEG is a wax material"


It surely does have its uses, but is pretty cumbersome and slow...and limited...for the average woodworker.