Help me fix this painting mistake!

[gharel]

I'm building a bookshelf out of red oak and dominos. I added some painters tape to the joints before painting the panels. But made a mistake and didn't cut the tape on the side pieces of these inset shelves. Repainting the whole panels is no longer an optional and I think it would be extremely difficult to match the finish since I used a mix of milk paint then Rubio oils and wax.

I'm thinking of either covering up the corner with some piece of material and somehow making it an accent, but struggling with what would look good.

Would appreciate any and all suggestions!

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[semenza]

    So is that a bookcase on it's side?

  How about a wide shot showing the whole thing?

Seth

 

[Crazyraceguy]

Is that all solid wood? (not veneered plywood sides)
If so, that cross-grain situation might become a bigger issue anyway.

 

[Packard]

Perhaps, make it a feature.

Add small triangular pieces finished either as the red oak, or as a contrasting wood.

It might look decorative, at least the “design decision” might not seem accidental.

Solid brass might look interesting.

In any case it could look “sculptural.

 

[gharel]

Here's a better angle in the correct orientation!
The painted back of this piece is actually MDF with a 3 inch wide strip of oak on the edge to make it more durable so I'm not worried about movement!

After thinking it over last night I'm leaning towards making it a feature, maybe pretending that the shelf is reinforced with some kind of support? Don't think concealing it is feasible correctly

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[bobtskutter]

Is it all glued together?  Could you move the shelves forwards to cover the unpainted area?

Bob

 

[Holzhacker]

Leave it, looks like an interesting artistic detail.

 

[squall_line]

Is that all solid wood? (not veneered plywood sides)
If so, that cross-grain situation might become a bigger issue anyway.

That, plus sagging across the width if those shelves are solid wood.

 

[Packard]

Is that all solid wood? (not veneered plywood sides)
If so, that cross-grain situation might become a bigger issue anyway.

That, plus sagging across the width if those shelves are solid wood.

Or, solve both problems by adding a stiffener board across the front of the shelves.  By the looks of it, a 3/4” x 1-1/2” strip of red oak attached to the front of each shelf would hide the painting mishap and add strength to the shelves.

Consult the Sagulator to check how much load each shelf can hold.  Books can be heavy.
https://woodbin.com/calcs/sagulator/

A front edging strip on shelves can as much as double the load capacity of a shelf.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

Is that all solid wood? (not veneered plywood sides)
If so, that cross-grain situation might become a bigger issue anyway.

That, plus sagging across the width if those shelves are solid wood.

Or, solve both problems by adding a stiffener board across the front of the shelves.  By the looks of it, a 3/4” x 1-1/2” strip of red oak attached to the front of each shelf would hide the painting mishap and add strength to the shelves.

Consult the Sagulator to check how much load each shelf can hold.  Books can be heavy.
https://woodbin.com/calcs/sagulator/

A front edging strip on shelves can as much as double the load capacity of a shelf.

At this point putting on a front build up edge will just add to the cross grain situation.
Then comes the question of with splits first, the side or the shelf?

 

[PaulMarcel]

I can't imagine using that loooooong flathead screwdriver in the photo. I have a hard enough time keeping the blade in the @&$# slot with a normal length! Would give great mechanical advantage with paint cans tho

 

[gharel]

I can't imagine using that loooooong flathead screwdriver in the photo. I have a hard enough time keeping the blade in the @&$# slot with a normal length! Would give great mechanical advantage with paint cans tho

Haha that's more of a novelty, I show people my "bluetooth screwdrivers" when they visit the shop!

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[gharel]

Yeah I was considering a "face frame" stiffener, but I don't want to go cross grain like that. All the pieces are set up so that wood movement will go front to back. All the front-facing panels are MDF to avoid problematic movement.

At this point the assembly is glued up so I can't move the shelves forward, but that would've been a good idea otherwise, hide the fix at the back of the shelf.

I've attached an image of the whole piece, the section in previous images is the two shelves in the back/left

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[Packard]

Yeah I was considering a "face frame" stiffener, but I don't want to go cross grain like that. All the pieces are set up so that wood movement will go front to back. All the front-facing panels are MDF to avoid problematic movement.

At this point the assembly is glued up so I can't move the shelves forward, but that would've been a good idea otherwise, hide the fix at the back of the shelf.

I've attached an image of the whole piece, the section in previous images is the two shelves in the back/left

Sent from my Pixel 7 using Tapatalk

How thick are the shelves?  Could you mount the stiffeners like breadboard ends? From my experience you can glue the middle of the shelf up to 3 to 4 inches apart.

So perhaps dowel (or domino) the middle 4” and solidly mount additional dowels in the stiffener, and use oblong holes for the shelf. 

 

[pixelated]

I think I’d just paint the bare spots, and blend it as well as you can. You will always see it, pretty much no matter what, but most other people won’t notice.

 

[Packard]

If it were something I was selling and it had to be perfect, or if it bothered me to see it, then I would mask off the shelves entirely and re-shoot the white entirely. 

I would first put one coat on the missed areas, and then reshoot the entire shelf system. 

I think that is the only way you will be 100% satisfied with the result.

I think a measure of a skilled woodworker is how well he resolves his mistakes.