UV blocker

[Bubinga]

I was wondering if anyone knows of any good products that will block UV while still giving a crystal clear protective coating on exotic woods. I only know about one, Minwax Spar poly, but I tend to avoid yellowing poly when possible. I have some Redheart accents in some my projects and I want to preserve the brilliant red color.

Thanks,
Rick

[Neil]

G'day Rick - White shellac, won't change the colour of the wood any more than wetting it with water. You don't need a UV blocker for interior work as it will darken with age even if coated with a UV product. It aint just the UV that darkens the timber with time.

Have done tests with blockers in shellac as I figured it could be a really good addition to our range of finishes. It makes virtually no differance to the way the timber colour changes with age. I gave up on it as a bit of a joke about 5 years ago.

From memory the max block strength was equivelent to 30+ SPF. the test was to apply 4 coats of shellac with the blocker in and when fully cured leave it in the sun for 7 days with thin strips of wood placed across the top of the timber. Every time the result was the same, when the strips were removed there was a marked difference between the colour of the covered and the uncovered timber. Not as bad as unprotected, been but not a lot better.

Hope you follow the ramble above.

Cheers - Neil

[Bubinga]

Thanks Neil, I might try the dissolved beetle shells. I use a pretty a good quality of redheart, so it will probably work okay. I just don't want a customer to end up with faded redheart after a couple of years if it sees a little bit of daylight.

Rick