Hi,
How fast is urethane supposed to turn yellow? I have used urethane for years with no tint, if you stain under it to a dark color you won't have to worry about that either. For white wash effects the yellow could be quite unpleasant
I do oil paintings which I don't sell because I use urethane in them, it's supposed to change color but it hasn't changed in 8 years... Maybe later. (If I think I might sell then I skip the urethane, it makes really nice effects and dries fast though, wish it was ok to use) There are some that claim to not yellow and be UV protectant, I have always picked them.
I took my old dirty pine stand and sanded the heck out of it til it was satin smooth and stained with minwax, after applying a Minwax pre-stain product for even coat. It helps stain go down more evenly, since I sanded so fine that maybe was necessary. Finished with marine spar urethane and the results were really nice, very very smooth and salt creep doesn't stick to it, you can't see or feel grain except around the knots which look interesting now instead of tacky. You can't tell urethane is there as I only did 2 coats and used matte finish. Love it, want to redo all my old furniture.
Then I had the LFS build me a hood with wood I bought to match the stand. Insisted I do the sanding and staining but they took my stuff and did it themselves....ARGH! What a difference putting some care into it makes. They did not sand at all and there was glue seeped out from joined areas (which were not square and it was half an inch short), guess they skipped the pre-stain product too, color is all streaky in places. The wood was not planed so it's rough enough even with the urethane, it snags fabric and hair and you can't wipe it with a sponge or towel without leaving bits of the sponge or towel attached. Color looks slightly off to me and I hate it, as does anyone who is into woodworking. Tangee's husband is itching to build me a replacement
So I guess, you get what you put into it. Those guys used the rest of my stain and urethane so it wasn't a different batch, they just didn't prepare the wood first. You can make wood look great with a little love. I'd think either of the guys above are right on the paint for the interior, wish I had done that... If it works on submarines it's gotta be good. That's another thing the LFS guys did, I was going to paint the inside white but they coated it with urethane... It is going to make a terrific raised flowerbed one of these days.
Kate
