Anyway, I'm finding the paneling is staying white, but areas close to windows and the window sashes are yellowing when they dry, even when I put a couple layers of primer on. What can I do? The paint is a matte white water based paint. I think it has something to do with the wood itself. Why did the finish turn yellow in those few places? White painted cabinets give your kitchen a clean, airy look, but they can turn yellow with time. He wood frame was raw wood. He's a polymer chemist and works for a paint company. I am at a loss as to why this is happening especially b/c the yellowing is random. I totally understand the interaction of color as an optical illusion but this is not the case. I wish I had taken a photo before I primed over my first coat of paint… POSSIBLE CAUSE Alkyd/oil based paints, because of their curing mechanism, tend to yellow, particularly in areas that are not exposed to sunlight. When I put clear polyurethane over white paint, it turned yellow as it was being put on. It looks like the Minwax Satin Finish Polyurethane might be oil based, true? It is pretty clear that the color is off. My husband and I began painting all of the surfaces in May...We have recently noticed that in sporadic places throughout the house the newly painted wood basebords and door frames are yellowing!!!! We painted w/ Behr semi-gloss interior enamel. well, in the end I used two coats of the solver psu primer on the unsealed wood, but just one on the beams, and followed that with a single top coat of tinted solver ceiling paint - all water based. Print. All bright white paint will yellow slightly with time, even without topcoat. John Brock: Choose a waterbased polyurethane instead. Looked like pine. A DIY enthusiast claims to have uncovered the reason why ‘brilliant’ white paint often seems to turn ‘yellow’ over time. Oil-based polyurethane causes yellowing of white paint. Poly Turning White Paint Yellow. I actually just had a similar conversation with my dad on this topic. Two weeks or so later, I cant see any of the staining, so hopefully that will continue to work. Finding yourself in the unfortunate situation of your white paint turning yellow may make you think that all of your hard work was for nothing. Hi This is due to use of vegetable oils to reduce the VOC content in the paint,in an attempt to make it less toxic. What you might be experiencing is tannin staining from the wood underneath the paint. Print. Development of a yellow cast in aging paint, most noticeable in the dried films of white paints or clear varnishes. If you want white paint then acrylic "waterbased" is your answer as it does not turn yellow but on the down side does not have same finish as oil based paint. Any waterbased polyurethane will go on clear and will not yellow over time. 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