What's the clearest finish/sealer?

[ShawnE Curry]

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This is my latest project - Norm Abram Deluxe Router Station. I used oak (ply) for the cabinet and trim, and maple for the drawer faces.

I tested some sample pieces with satin polyurethane. I love how it looks on the oak, but the maple ended up yellower than I'd like. I'd like something absolutely clear and not too glossy, but the clear is more important to me - I could live with glossy.

[Joe O'Connor]

Try water based poly, I've used it on maple drawers with good results. Be carful though it sets up fast and runs easily. It dries to a really hard film and is absolutely clear. Sweet router table, I'm jealous.

[ShawnE Curry]

I did some web searching on this topic as well, and it looks like water-based poly seems to be the consensus.

It looks like Minwax Polycrylic is the only one available in quart size at my local 'Depot. Otherwise they carry the Rust-Oleum brand in gallon sizes, designed for floors. Is the Polycrylic a blend? I suspect it is, since it says you can use it over water or oil based stain. I've read that the blends are yellower due to the urethane resins they contain.

Anybody care to share their brand preferences for this application? Clear finishing of light woods like maple?

[Willem Martins]

Water based Poly will turn yellow after time due to oxidation. Oxidisation can result in the breaking and rearranging of chemical bonds along the polymer chain, giving a yellow color. Some will add stabilizers to prevent this, but these are naturally exhausted in the finish over time, just delaying the effect.

I finished a Curly Maple chest about 10 months ago and sprayed a highly recommended clear WB Poly after a lot of research and consulting with the manufacturer. It still looks great, but if I open the chest lid, the inside where it receives no light has started turning yellow and it is pretty obvious.

Your best bet is a CAB Acrylic Lacquer finish.

[John TenEyck]

I have used a lot of General Finishes High Performance Poly. It is mostly acrylic and contains a dual UV stabilizer package to prevent both the finish and underlying wood from changing color for many years. GF also makes a product called Enduro Clear Poly with a UV package perhaps even better than in the HP Poly. They look very much the same, the only real difference to me is the Clear Poly also comes in matte finish while the HP poly only goes down to satin and, more importantly, the Clear Poly is much more chemically durable. The HP Poly would be fine for a shop cabinet - for kitchen cabinets however I would choose the Clear Poly.

Bill, your comment about the inside of your curly maple chest turning yellow, but not the outside, seems backwards to me. Why would the inside be turning yellow if no light can get to it? With my kitchen cabinets, it's just the opposite - the outsides are turning yellow while the insides are much lighter.

John

[David Hawxhurst]

i've been using a 2k ploy from delta labs. did some maple stools almost 2yr now that see regular light, they don't seem to be yellowing yet.

[Willem Martins]

Bill, your comment about the inside of your curly maple chest turning yellow, but not the outside, seems backwards to me. Why would the inside be turning yellow if no light can get to it? With my kitchen cabinets, it's just the opposite - the outsides are turning yellow while the insides are much lighter.

John

That was a surprise to me as well. The yellow is a neat square on the inside of the lid, the whole inside area where the lid meets the case. The overhang around the edge is still perfectly white. Can only guess, the inside of the chest seems to not have the issue, only the unexposed inside of the lid. Could be gassing off of the finish? A compound rub may restore it, not sure?

I do not have a picture of the yellow, but here is the chest.

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[ShawnE Curry]

That's the look I'm going for with the maple. I like the chest, I'm planning to do one very similar to that. My grandfather liked the early American style of furniture and I have several of the pieces he made - I think he usually used pine and went with a fruitwood stain though. I have a 'quickie' cedar lined blanket chest that he made out of plywood that's a bit large for a foot-of-the-bed piece, at least for my taste. I want to 'reclaim' the cedar out of it and make one very similar to yours.

[John TenEyck]

Bill, I think you're on to something inside the chest is causing the yellowing of the underside of the top. I doubt it's the finish itself, however. What do you have stored in it? Just curious, doesn't really matter, it's inside after all.

That's a very nice design - love the contrast between the cherry and maple. Very clean workmanship, too.

John

[Willem Martins]

Bill, I think you're on to something inside the chest is causing the yellowing of the underside of the top. I doubt it's the finish itself, however. What do you have stored in it? Just curious, doesn't really matter, it's inside after all.

That's a very nice design - love the contrast between the cherry and maple. Very clean workmanship, too.

John

Its empty, nothing inside. Thanks for the complement.

Here is a picture, you can see the yellow underside of lid as well as underside of till box lid. Weird? Perhaps a Chemist here will explain.

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[Bill Neely]

I used GF Polyacrylic on a maple dresser top with Oregon myrtle banding and it hasn't yellowed a bit in ~5 years. Caveat is that it doesn't get a great deal of light in it's location.

[Lee Schierer]

I used Varathane Diamond Floor finish on this bathroom vanity.285710 because my DIL wanted a clear light finish. It has remained clear and non-yellowing after more than 10 years. I also used a water based poly finish on a red oak mobile computer stand than I made over 20 years ago and was amazed when I saw it just a few weeks ago how clear and non-yellowing the finish has remained, imparting almost no color at all to the wood and the wood has not changed color due to light exposure.

[ShawnE Curry]

My wood shop is set up in my basement, so light shouldn't be an issue for me. I'm more worried about the relative humidity come springtime. It's dry as a bone down there right now, because I heat with wood and this winter has been so cold. I'll run a second dehumidifier down there if I have to.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Here is a picture, you can see the yellow underside of lid as well as underside of till box lid. Weird?
Alkyd enamels are notorious for doing the same thing.
I wish I could remember why, but, it's been way too may years.

Matter of fact, I'd forgotten all about it and painted the crown in my living room w/a white alkyd enamel about 5 years ago.
It's a dark cream color now. Almost a light gold.

[Willem Martins]

I used GF Polyacrylic on a maple dresser top with Oregon myrtle banding and it hasn't yellowed a bit in ~5 years. Caveat is that it doesn't get a great deal of light in it's location.

I used the same finish as the chest in the above post on a kitchen table and chairs. Still clear, no color change after 3 years. The difference is the inside of the chest is closed, while the kitchen table and chairs are open. Don't want to divulge the finish manufacturer, as it would be fair to discuss this with the manufacturer first, but at time of purchasing the finish they were confident that it would not change color. It also has a UV blocker and can be used externally, marine grade, suitable for floors, etc.

[John TenEyck]

Bill, that sure is strange; exactly opposite of what would be expected for light aging of the finish or underlying wood. Very strange that only the underside of the top yellowed while the sides look the same inside and out. I'd have to guess something else is at play, but I'm at a loose to even guess what it might, since you said the chest is empty.
John

[David Macfee]

New member- learning the ropes..

For clarity it would be hard to beat shellac- Mix it from dry flakes with alcohol or go to the store and pickup Zinsser sealcoat which is dewaxed shellac or Zinsser regular shellac in either Orange or "clear" which is known as Blonde Shellac to shellac users. No finish complements the wood better- but it does come with a slight amber tint. So if your priority is non yellowing, then shellac may not be ideal- but if you try it, I'm pretty sure you'll like it. Won't win the durability contest but probably much more durable than most people think it is. After all, shellac was heavily used as a floor and trim finish in the early 1900s and a lot of it still looking decent today. Just a thought- worth your time to experiment with it. I'm sure I am not the only shellac lover in this group.

Dave Macfee