Non yellowing finish

[LiliB]

Hi everyone

David has just finished a scroll sawn chess set. The 'white' men are made from Pawlonia, which is not really white, but is sufficiently so to contrast with the red gum 'black' men. This timber is very soft and fragile, so finishing needs to be done gently. David has done a sample piece with oil and naturally this has turned the piece quite yellow.

So here's the thing - is there any sort of finish that can be applied to keep that whiteness in tact? The Pawlonia is not particularly interesting visually, so the finish really is only needed to give it some protection from soiling. If the pieces need to be painted, that would fall to me, whether its a sealer type of finish, or a decorative one, and quite frankly I don't fancy the job. So, the easier the process, the better.

:U:U:U

[Woodwould]

Bleached shellac is about as transparent and colourless as it gets for a simple DIY finish. You could also add some pigment to the shellac to increase the whiteness. Titanium white is about as bright white as it gets.

[LiliB]

Thanks Woodwould
When using shellac, can I use water based pigments to colour, or do I need to use powder? I have artist's quality watercolour paint in Titanium white.

[Woodwould]

Your water based white would be fine under shellac once it's fully dry.

[LiliB]

Thanks so much. Problem solved and so quickly.
:U:U:U

[AlexS]

To add to what WW said, shellac is probably the easiest finish to apply, and (if necessary) repair. That probably won't be a problem for chess pieces.

[LiliB]

Thanks Alex. Makes me even happier. I'm finding finishing quite tedious at the moment, so if my experience with shellac is good, it might become the finish of my choice in future. Just have to get hold of some. None here in the bush, so it's back to the net again.:U:U:U

[Woodwould]

Try our illustrious leader's stuff (http://www.ubeaut.com.au/dewaxed.html). Jim Carroll sells it on his site too.

[rrobor]

To add to this. What you must do is understand why wood changes colour. Red gum off the saw has lovely shades of pink. Given time these turn to the red we expect from the species.
This is oxidisation, basicially the wood is rusting. Now for wood to yellow, sorry Im not sure of the chemestry. What I do know is that paint will yellow if it does not have enough UV light.
So is there a fix, and is the fix some varnish, I doubt that, But *I would never discourage shellac as a product, its easy and quick, and a failure is fairly easy to remedy.