sanding plywood and finishing questions

[bevans]

I have read with great interest some techniques of sanding plywood in the archives but still have a few questions.

I am making a cabinet with several types of hard wood and am using plywood for the sides.  The project ready for glue.

I have some red oak plywood I am using for the sides and the top layer seems very thin. I'd like to sand, stain and apply a finish coat but am not sure about a few things. Can I use 220 then 320 Brilliant without burning through the outer layer?  Should I use a finer grit paper after the 320?

The top of the cabinet is white oak trimmed in walnut and (wrapped as a skirt wit)h curly maple. (I know it is a weird combination but it's together except for the sanding and finishing and will not be changing materials now) What type of stain would you suggest to use with the red oak to work with the white oak top? And finally, what shellac or poly would be best to use to enhance the walnut and the maple grain?

Thanks in advance

Bruce

 

[Jesse Cloud]

Lots of questions [eek].  I'll offer my two cents worth, but don't be surprised if you get many differing opinions on finishing.  Ask 10 woodworkers a finishing question and you will get twenty or thirty good answers (and maybe a few crappy ones  [huh]),

First of all, if there are no defects (scratches, marks, etc) in the plywood, there is no reason to sand very much at all.  I usually stop at 180, or 220 if I am going for a really glossy look.  320 and above are best used after a finish is applied to scuff up the coat to improve adhesion for the next coat.  It is very easy to sand through that top coat of veneer and very hard to fix.

Your combination of woods is unusual.  What do you want to accomplish with your finish?  Do you wish to accent the different woods or to help them blend together?  The most malleable wood is the maple.  A clear water based poly will keep it from darkening, but may make it look plastic-like.  If you want to warm up the maple and darken it a bit, an orange shellac might help.  If you really want to "pop" the grain, start with an oil based product, maybe oil based poly.

Lots of choices.  Let us know more about the look you are going for and maybe we can offer more useful advice...

 

[mouppe]

Here is a picture of walnut and birdseye maple with several layers of orange shellac.

Burning through the oak veneer is not a question of which grit to use. You will burn through it with any grit but it will take longer with a higher grit, that is all. You may want to use a random orbit sander at 180 or 220 briefly and then proceed with a hand sanding block.

If you are planning to stain, do not go higher than 220 grit beforehand as the stain will not be absorbed properly. In fact, I would stop at 180, then stain, then sand it down with 220. 320 is unnecessary. You could give it a layer of shellac before staining as it will even the stain colour and help reduce any blotching.

Richard.

 

[bevans]

Thanks for the advice, I like the idea of orange shellac on the maple to blend in with the oak. That will look good. The red oak ply is in very good shape I just thought I had to sand before applying a finish. I'll leave it alone. The face frame is also red oak. I wasn't going for a special look, I had some wood in the shop and used what I had rather than good planning (likely not to happen again). Thanks again.

Bruce

 

[Brice Burrell]

Glad to see your questions here Bruce.  I won't rehash the info I sent you but I do want to post the link the Wood Whisperer's video on dyes. Check it out, You and Dye.  Dyes can be the next step in finishing once we grow tired of the basic Minwax products at the home center.  With the four different species of wood you might need to play with colors to achieve a nice balance of color between species.  Good luck and be sure to post pictures.

 

[sancho57]

I usually sand to 100-150 then use general finishes w/b stain along with their enduro w/b poly for finishing.