Recommended *Clear* Poly finish?

Typically your water based poly’s do not yellow and are crystal clear. The finish is not as durable as the oil based poly though. When using water based finishes, remember not to use steel wool. Any fibers left over will rust.

-- My favorite piece is my last one, my best piece is my next one.

Tung oil is fine but now that you have a sealer on it will not work if I was you I would go to water base varnish which will not yellow , it may yellow a bit if it is in the sun a lot you can even use water base varnish on floors now , that is all I use it drys fast no smell and doesnot yellow ,you can get also water base exterior varnish which is harder .

-- Woodworking what a way to relax

You are right , trifern, I forgot about steel wool because I nerver use it

-- Woodworking what a way to relax

same as trifern, use a water based poly such as General finishes “High performance” that is the one that i use. it does produce a more brittle finish as oppose to an elastic finish (like poly) so it is not as durable but if you put like 4 0r 5 coats on there it should be fine for any standard applications.

I have furniture 7 and 8 years old and the water base varnish is still like the day I put it on , I always use 5 coats on all side and 7 on my tops , I start sanding after the second coat and I never use sealer and after 2 days I light sand with 1000 grits sand paper to make it shine more.

-- Woodworking what a way to relax

I usually use a waterbased poly. 5 or 6 coats and you should have no problems.

Lowes sells Cabot brand which is pretty good.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Nate,
General Finishes makes a great wipe on poly (top coat) that is truly a dream to use. It is available in a gloss, semi-gloss and satin. Personaly, I have only used the traditional oil based version as I don’t care for the cold cast (blue hue) that water based poly can give. Three coats seem to do very well, provided that it was sanded properly. Good luck.

Tom

-- Anybody can become a woodworker, but only a Craftsman can hide his mistakes.

I hate to tell you that maple yellows with age on it’s own. I still would use the clearest finish but underneath it will still change just like cherry does.

My big entertainment center of maple was bright-white maple and it has turned golden. It looks good though.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com