Most of my woodworking has been with solid wood, and I almost always
apply the same type and number of coats of finish to hidden and show
surfaces to assure balanced moisture movement.
Now I am building a bookcase/cabinet built-in that will be painted.
And I suddenly had to ask myself why I was planning to paint surfaces
that will never be seen. Is there any reason to? e.g., the back side
of the back panel or the underside of the cabinet floor. If humidity
changes flow mainly through those surfaces and not the painted "show"
surface, does it matter with plywood? This will be in an air
conditioned space, and while it is on an outside wall our temperatures
(in Atlanta) don't get as extreme as some areas.
--
Alex -- Replace "nospam" with "mail" to reply by email. Checked infrequently.
alexy wrote:
> Lew Hodgett <[email protected]> wrote:
> >Why not hit the hidden surfaces with a coat of shellac?
>
> Little reason not to (small cost in $ and time), and I am a big fan of
> shellac. But is there a reason _TO_ hit is with a coat of shellac??
>
I hope not, the built-in I recently did was all plywood and only
painted on the inside. It has been a few months and no problems yet
even with all of the heat and humidity in the garage and the AC running
full blast in the house. If it matters the back side is fully
insulated and drywalled on the garage side.
If you're looking for some ideas this is where I got my inspiration:
http://www.finewoodworkers.com/detail_pages/t_builtin.htm
You can click on the pictures to get a better view.
alexy wrote:
> Most of my woodworking has been with solid wood, and I almost always
> apply the same type and number of coats of finish to hidden and show
> surfaces to assure balanced moisture movement.
>
> Now I am building a bookcase/cabinet built-in that will be painted.
> And I suddenly had to ask myself why I was planning to paint surfaces
> that will never be seen. Is there any reason to?
Why not hit the hidden surfaces with a coat of shellac?
Lew
"alexy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Most of my woodworking has been with solid wood, and I almost always
> apply the same type and number of coats of finish to hidden and show
> surfaces to assure balanced moisture movement.
>
> Now I am building a bookcase/cabinet built-in that will be painted.
> And I suddenly had to ask myself why I was planning to paint surfaces
> that will never be seen. Is there any reason to? e.g., the back side
> of the back panel or the underside of the cabinet floor. If humidity
> changes flow mainly through those surfaces and not the painted "show"
> surface, does it matter with plywood? This will be in an air
> conditioned space, and while it is on an outside wall our temperatures
> (in Atlanta) don't get as extreme as some areas.
> --
The conventional wisdom is that if you don't treat both surfaces the same
they can move differently and warp.
Things that are held securely, like cabinet floors, probably are going
anywhere. And I suspect in climate controlled houses there isn't much
effect anyhow. Still, I do both sides if it is practical. The time and
material is not large, and it might prevent a problem.
Lew Hodgett <[email protected]> wrote:
>alexy wrote:
> > Most of my woodworking has been with solid wood, and I almost always
> > apply the same type and number of coats of finish to hidden and show
> > surfaces to assure balanced moisture movement.
> >
> > Now I am building a bookcase/cabinet built-in that will be painted.
> > And I suddenly had to ask myself why I was planning to paint surfaces
> > that will never be seen. Is there any reason to?
>
>Why not hit the hidden surfaces with a coat of shellac?
>
>Lew
Little reason not to (small cost in $ and time), and I am a big fan of
shellac. But is there a reason _TO_ hit is with a coat of shellac??
--
Alex -- Replace "nospam" with "mail" to reply by email. Checked infrequently.