Clear finish for Baltic birch drawer boxes

JCLP

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Would anyone have any recommendations on a clear non yellowing finish for Baltic birch drawer boxes?
Thanks.
 
I use Kem Aqua Plus. Most, if not all, water based finishes do not yellow over time.

Tom
 
My go-to is Satin finish water-based polyurethane. I prefer Sherwin Williams but I have also used others with good results.
 
JCLP said:
Would anyone have any recommendations on a clear non yellowing finish for Baltic birch drawer boxes?
Thanks.

Are you spraying or brushing/wiping?

Polyurethane water based or petroleum based work well.

I like adding a little color to my light colored drawer boxes and I use General Enduro Var or Target EM 2000 which are both Alkyd varnishes. Enduro Var is more "golden" than EM 2000. Both cure to a very hard surface.
Tim
 
Tim Raleigh said:
JCLP said:
Would anyone have any recommendations on a clear non yellowing finish for Baltic birch drawer boxes?
Thanks.

Are you spraying or brushing/wiping?

Polyurethane water based or petroleum based work well.

I like adding a little color to my light colored drawer boxes and I use General Enduro Var or Target EM 2000 which are both Alkyd varnishes. Enduro Var is more "golden" than EM 2000. Both cure to a very hard surface.
Tim
Hi Tim. Thanks for your info. Always good to hear from you. I will need to make a trip out to Oakville one day. As for brushing or spraying, I don't know that yet as I'm thinking of buying the Graco TrueCoat Pro II today. One of the dealers has a promo on for $329.95. If I don't buy it I will be brushing with a good bristle brush. On another note, I'm looking at getting the Leigh D4R Pro dovetail jig. Will this work with the 1400 router or do I need to buy something else to marry the two together.
 
JCLP said:
Tim Raleigh said:
JCLP said:
Would anyone have any recommendations on a clear non yellowing finish for Baltic birch drawer boxes?
Thanks.

Are you spraying or brushing/wiping?

Polyurethane water based or petroleum based work well.

I like adding a little color to my light colored drawer boxes and I use General Enduro Var or Target EM 2000 which are both Alkyd varnishes. Enduro Var is more "golden" than EM 2000. Both cure to a very hard surface.
Tim
Hi Tim. Thanks for your info. Always good to hear from you. I will need to make a trip out to Oakville one day. As for brushing or spraying, I don't know that yet as I'm thinking of buying the Graco TrueCoat Pro II today. One of the dealers has a promo on for $329.95. If I don't buy it I will be brushing with a good bristle brush. On another note, I'm looking at getting the Leigh D4R Pro dovetail jig. Will this work with the 1400 router or do I need to buy something else to marry the two together.

The 1400 router will work with the Leigh D4R Pro but, it might be a bit heavy.  I got the Leigh dust attachment for my jig and it helps support the router.

I also just use thinned shellac for drawers.

Jack
 
The Graco Truecoat Pro II is a very good airless sprayer, but be aware that it moves a lot of material very fast.  You may want to add the NAR311 spray tip to your order to slow down material delivery and get a 6" fan width. 

 
JCLP said:
One of the dealers has a promo on for $329.95. If I don't buy it I will be brushing with a good bristle brush.

That's a good price. Please PM me with the dealer. I might get one at that price.

JCLP said:
On another note, I'm looking at getting the Leigh D4R Pro dovetail jig. Will this work with the 1400 router or do I need to buy something else to marry the two together.

The Leigh D4R will work with the 1400. I use the 1010, gotta get a 1400 for some other applications. Get the VRS dust collector for the D4R, it's very effective. Depending on the route you go, there are many good threads here discussing the best way to center the collet for the DR4
 
I prefer to use the OF1010 myself over the OF1400 but in all honesty I found the good old Porter Cable 690 to be a much friendlier router then the Festool and easier to setup. Unfortunately I sold it when I got my Festool stuff in 2008. Since Leigh brought the dust collection attachment you don't get covered like you use to. If your planning on using the Leigh jig for drawer dovetails you will find a dedicated router is the way to go, setup is a pain even after you done it several times and with all the tips and tricks. For a clear non yellowing finish Target EM9000 or ML Campbell Aqualente would be good choices. Its funny also that Sherwin Williams owns both Minwax and ML Campbell, I wonder who makes their clear coat products? Hopefully Minwax has absolutely nothing to do with them.

John
 
I would do Bullseye sanding sealer a couple rounds as a base coat and then SW clear wb poly. Been loving this stuff. It has replaced our previous house wine clear.
 

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I use Enduro water base. 1 coat of sealer, one build coat one final coat. light sanding in between coats
 
Thanks to everyone for their recommendations. I will spend some time trying them all to see which I like best. Got myself a new sprayer, so I will be playing with that as well.
Cheers.
JC
 
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