Non yellowing clear finish on maple

[Robert Willing]

What is a good finish on maple that will not yellow?

[Mike Henderson]

I don't think it's the finish that yellows, it's the maple. I've never seen a set of maple cabinets (for example) that didn't yellow after enough years. I suspect if you could keep the maple in the dark, it might not yellow but that's not very realistic for something that's going to be used.

Mike

[Robert Willing]

I am making a maple gun rack for a client and he does not want it to look yellow to start with.

[scott vroom]

General Finishes water base Enduro Clear Poly is water clear and will not yellow over time. Target Coatings also makes non-yellowing water base finishes, as do others.

As Mike pointed out, maple will darken over time from UV exposure. Eco-Step Coatings makes UV Master, a UV protected clear poly for exterior application; we used it on a unstained fir entry door several years ago. I haven't been back to see how well it worked. It sprayed nicely and I don't see why it couldn't be used on interior projects.

http://coloramapaint.com/store2014/index.php?route=product/product&path=61&product_id=68
http://www.ecostepscoating.com/products.html#!page2

[John TenEyck]

GF's Enduro Clear Poly has a dual UV package; one part protects the finish from yellowing, the other other part protects the underlying wood. I talked to GF's chemist a couple of years ago, and he told me they had a maple table in one of their conference rooms that was finished with Clear Poly. It was something like 6 or 7 years old at that point, and had shifted 3 points on whatever test they use to measure yellowing (sorry, can't remember). What I do remember is 3 points was not much.

John

[Robert Willing]

Thanks for the info :)

[Scott Holmes]

Super blonde Shellac will give a light straw; shellac will not yellow.

[john brady]

Hi Robert,

I used Minwax water base poly (with the BLUE label) on maple faced plywood for a shelving unit nearly 15 years ago and it hasn't yellowed yet!

John

[Robert Willing]

Hi Robert,

I used Minwax water base poly (with the BLUE label) on maple faced plywood for a shelving unit nearly 15 years ago and it hasn't yellowed yet!

John

John
I am using Minwax Polycrylic and the finish is really not what I expected, I have been using Minwax Polyurethane with excellent results. I always brush on than lightly go over finish with a foam brush. This Polycrylic has brush marks bubbles and runs, with Polyurethane never had that problem. What am I doing wrong? Can I still put Polyurethane over Polycrylic? I have two coats of Polycrylic on now.

[Scott Holmes]

Better to lightly sand and reapply the Polycrylic. Oil based poly will not stick well to the Polycrylic. You may try brushing it on and letting it flow out without going back over it.

[Phil Thien]

Better to lightly sand and reapply the Polycrylic. Oil based poly will not stick well to the Polycrylic. You may try brushing it on and letting it flow out without going back over it.

Yep. I've gotten pretty good at this. Two brushes, an application and a dry brush. The dry brush is used to clean-up any pooling that forms in nooks and crannies.

On larger flat surfaces which I can keep horizontal, I'll apply the product and when I'm done I mist the surface with Windex. Not a ton of Windex, just enough for it to flow out on top of the finish and break the surface tension. This will give you a real smooth, even coat of finish.

[Scott Holmes]

Actually if you wet the second brush with water; as you should both brushes, before you use them, you will get much better results. See Brush Care 101 (sticky note) at top of Finishing forum.

[Robert Willing]

OK I have watched the video 101 and it concerns oil based finishes which I have no problem with, but my problem is polyc not polyu. The surfaces I have a problem with are not large or table tops but small pieces with rounded edges and I normally coat one side and place it on a bed of nails than do the other side and let dry. With the polyc I can not seem to control the runs because the instruction say flow it on and if I were to hit it with windex I think this would increase my problems. I will try to follow the above direction one more time and than go back to polyu if all else fails. I did Google polyu over polyc and according to inputs it is OK. If I can remember to take picture I will so all can see my problem with what I am coating. I am just frustrated with this process.

[John TenEyck]

In the future, try General Finishes Hi Performance Poly. It's a far better product than Minwax Polycrylic in every way. It goes on very easily with a foam brush, flows out to a smooth, bubble free surface, dries crystal clear, and has good durability against most things except strong alcohols, acetone, and ammonia.



John

[Scott Holmes]

Same principle applies for a brush used to apply a water borne finish; use water to wet the brush not MS. Conditioning the brush with the proper thinner for the finish will help reduce the bubbles caused by brushing. Makes the brush clean up much better too.

[John TenEyck]

Holy smokes, was MS used to wet the brush used for a WB product? I missed that. That would be really bad.

John

[Robert Willing]

What is MS

[John TenEyck]

Mineral spirits.

[Robert Willing]

For the record the video 101 is all about oil based coatings. I abandoned all suggestions and covered the water based poly with oil based poly and it turned out great. I lightly sanded the finish to rough it up and applied two thin coats. The water based coating which was recommended is not available in my area only 75 miles away. Yes I could have bought it on line and 3X the price of my initial water based coating and 1/2 the amount. I also bought a brush made by MinWax for this coating and it was a waste of money.

In the video 101 I would have also added to add Japan Drier (JD) (oil based application only) to the polyurethane. This speeds up the drying time and eliminates air bourn particles. Most of my PU coating is done in the vertical plane and the JD reduces runs. I also like to follow-up by immediately over brushing with a dry foam brush. This produces a near spray on coating/finish. I also constantly remove excess coating in the foam brush by using a paper towel to absorb most of the accumulated coating in the foam brush.