Pine Cabinet

[Chris Parks]

I have had some very nice furniture grade pine for a lot of years and recently my son decided he would use it to build a TV/Lego cabinet. Is there any finish that will stop it going yellow over time or is it a lost cause?

[derekcohen]

Chris, use a water-based poly. These stay clear and do not yellow like the oil-based types.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[mature one]

I have intarsia that is finished with either gloss or satin spray and I have found that rustoleoum is the only one that doesn't yellow in time. I have projects side by side for over 12 months and the rustoleoum dosen't appear to have changed.

[ubeaut]

Hi Chris

Just my opinion, but for mine, pine looks at it's best once it has that soft, warm honey coloured aged look, which will almost certainly happen in the end..

If it's radiata pine I'd be more worried about stopping it warping/moving over the years, especially if it's been around for a lot of years and not stored well.

I can't recall ever seeing any finish that will stop the colour change with time. People often say there hasn't been a change in items they see every day for years, but I'd just about bet if you put a newly machined piece of pine alongside it there will be at least a subtle if not dramatic difference that has never been noticed.

I could be wrong and would applaud any finish that stopped the colour change but even UV filtered finishes don't seem to be able to fully stop the change.

Cheers - Neil

[Chris Parks]

I tend to agree you Neil but I was just wondering if any new gee whiz advances had been made to prevent yellowing. As for bending, it is made from 40mm thick slabs so that shouldn't be too much of a problem and the timber had previously been in use for about thirty years as shelves so it is fairly stable. Thanks to you and Derek for your interest.

[PaintMan]

Hi Chris,As a retired paint chemist I can say I am not aware of any technology that can prevent timber from aging/darkening over time. It is true that the newer acrylic/PU finishes do not yellow like the urethane alkyd types but even in interior applications timber especially pine will show darkening. One technique is to lightly colour treat the pine to start with so the change over time is less noticeable. I am sure that is why a lot of commercial producers seem to favor a light whitewash type of finish.
Cheers,
Paintman