Preventing ash yellowing with varnish

[got wood]

Hi all!
I will soon be finishing a set of built in wardrboes made from ash veneer mdf carcass, and solid ash doors.
I had a practice with some clear matt varnish, and the wood yellowed as I expected it to.
My question is this. Can i prevent the wood from yellowing / darkening?
I would like to keep it as light as possible.
Does a sanding sealer help?

Thanks for any advice.

Jamie

 

[Sgian Dubh]

Hi all!
Can i prevent the wood from yellowing / darkening?
I would like to keep it as light as possible.
Does a sanding sealer help? Thanks for any advice.

Jamie

All the oil based varnishes tend to darken the wood and I'm not sure what kind of sanding sealer you might have in mind as oil based varnish is its own sealer.

You might consider a water based varnish which doesn't amber or yellow. The trouble with all of these that I've come across is that they tend to have a bit of blue'ish cast to them and look rather dead and cold.

But to warm the job up you can use a base coat of a dewaxed clear shellac. The dewaxed bit is important because water based varnishes are very sensitive to impurities below them. To keep the colour of the ash light use a bleached or super blonde shellac. Then follow up with two or three coats of water based varnish.

As ever, do a test panel first, ideally a foot or two square, to make sure you like what you get and that you aren't building in any adhesion problems. Slainte.

 

[GCR]

Jamie

I do agree that fresh ash looks great. Unfortunately, I think ash, like most woods, changes colour anyway when exposed to light. A blond shellac based sealer might give better colour. Failing that I have come across some varnishes which had a mauve tinge which looked much "fresher" when applied. Also, the Scandinavians use a varnish with a whit pigment which keeps pine white. Another member may be able to help you on the latest details of these because I have seen the pigmented varnish used but have no idea who made it. I used to buy the mauve tinged varnish "Permoglaze" from a company called Gibbs and Dandy, dont know if they still sell it.

Bob

 

[White House Workshop]

Dulux do a water-based varnish called 'Diamond Tough' and it has very little effect on wood colour. I used it on our maple floors and the colour has really only changed due to ageing.

 

[jasonB]

Most of the water based floor lacquers work well either Dulux Diamondglaze or Barfords Aquacote are a coup[le that I have used on light woods. Several thin coats are best as too many can give a cloudy finish.

This table & bench were finished in Aquacote and have not yellowed over time.

Jason

 

[got wood]

Hi all,
Thanks for all the advice. Very helpful.
I have had a look at the sample in all different lights, and it actually doesn't look that yellow!
I will try a water based lacquer though to compare.
Tried searching for the aquacote, but the website is a dead link now, and google doesn't come up with much. The dulux product looks good, but isn't available in matt :roll:

Thanks again all

Jamie