Wipe/Brush on Clear Satin Finish for Pale Baltic Birch Ply Cabinet?

[adam breuer]

I am finishing up a shop cabinet made from pale baltic birch plywood. I would like to do a brush or wipe-on clear finish, and I want to avoid making it look more amber (if anything, I wouldn't mind it being even more neutral). Ideally, it would be great to get a satin, waxy-looking finish (sortof like a french lacquer finish).

Can anyone recommend a good finish? I have been thinking about Pratt and Lambert #38 (soy oil based I believe), although I wonder if something water based would yield a better color.

[Mike Berrevoets]

I use a lot of maple and prefer clear, non Amber finishes. My go to brush finish is general finishes high performance polyurethane. Easy to use and looks good when I take a little time. requires a few quick sanding swipes between coats but it's easy to sand. In my experience it doesn't look good until the third coat is applied.

sorry, I can't say I know what a French lacquer finish looks like so I can't say the GF product will give you that look.

[Al Launier]

I've had good results with a clear non-wax shellac (Bulls Eye Zinsser Shellac Clear Base) as a sealer followed by a wipe on satin poly (Minwax Wipe-On Clear Satin.

[Wayne Lomman]

Adam, in my experience there are 2 ways to minimise yellowing - either use a water borne coating or use a high grade, UV stabilised 2 pack polyurethane. Given your preference for hand application, use a water borne finish. I did this for the birch veneer in the Gold Coast City Council Chambers some years ago for this very reason (photo elsewhere in my posts). I can't recommend a specific product as our products in Australia are different to suit the climate here.

Just out of interest, the best 2 pack polyurethanes are actually found in the heavy duty protective coating product ranges and out of those the anti graffiti clears are the best. Cheers

Also, if you add just a touch of white pigment to the clear it helps as well.

[Jamie Buxton]

Minwax now offers a waterborne poly wipe-on. The waterborne part should mean that it is color-free. I haven't tried it myself, but a friend swears by the stuff. http://www.minwax.com/wood-products/clear-protective-finishes/wipe-ons/minwax-water-based-wipe-on-poly

[John TenEyck]

My experience with GF HP Poly is the same. Very easy to apply and beautifully clear. Comes in satin sheen, too. This is HP Poly's near clone, Enduro Clear Poly (Flat) on Baltic birch:

337444

P&L 38 and other oil based varnishes will have an amber tint. Arm-R-Seal has the least of any I've seen, very little actually.

This is ARS on curly maple:

337443

John

[adam breuer]

^^ Nice finishes!

Does anyone have experience with applying Zinsser's Sealcoat de-waxed shellac prior to poly/other finishes (particularly the Minwax waterborne poly linked to above)? I keep reading about it but have never given it a try.

[Al Launier]

I've had good results with a clear non-wax shellac (Bulls Eye Zinsser Shellac Clear Base) as a sealer followed by a wipe on satin poly (Minwax Wipe-On Clear Satin.

Ooops! I sure blew that one. I just realized that I previously looked at the wrong can on my shelf & used the title on it to be accurate in my response, not thinking I'd grabbed the wrong can & not looking carefully. I should have stated Zinsser Bulls Eye Seal Coat which is 100% wax free. Sorry if I misled anyone. The Clear Base should not be used under a polyurethane.

[John TenEyck]

Yes, I do it all the time, but I commonly use GF's waterborne products. I particularly like to use this approach if I'm just applying clear coat on something like oak. The Sealcoat adds a little amber color and, more important to me, minimizes the grain raising from the WB topcoat.

John

[Al Launier]

Have read this thread I decided to check into other comments regarding the use of shellac, hoping to find more info on Zinsser's Shellac Seal Coat. This may be of interest to some http://woodshopnews.com/columns-blogs/finishing/502292-shellac-as-a-sealer-its-all-just-hype. ???

[Sean Tracey]

General Finishes Satin, High Performance Poly, 2 to 3 coats applied with a Jen brand name foam brush is dead simple to use and doesn't add color. They also make a flat. It is water based.

Amazon has the Jen brand name foam brushes. They are better than the foam brushed at big box stores because the foam itself is better and because there is a internal stiffener that keeps the foam from flopping around and attaches the foam to the handle well.

[John TenEyck]

I read that article when it was first printed in Woodshop News. It's accurate but he fails to mention that WB finishes often result in raised grain which can be hard to deal with. Applying a coat of Sealcoat shellac first greatly diminishes or eliminates that problem. Sealcoat also keeps at least 2 years, unless it corrodes a hole in the can but that's a separate issue, which is longer than the stated shelf life of many finishes. You can add dye to it to make toners of any color. It's easy to wipe on small projects, and sprays like a dream on large ones. There are just all kinds of reasons to keep Sealcoat in your finishing cabinet.

John

[Howard Acheson]

P&L is an oil based finish. As it is made with soya oil it imparts less yellow than linseed and tung oil, but it will still add some yellow to your baltic birch cabinets.

An acrylic waterborne finish will produce the least yellow finish. It is almost water clear. However, some acrylics have a amber dye added to them to mimic oil based varnish. You need to read the label carefully and/or test the finish on some scrap from your project.