How to prep cherry ply surface for amber shellac
 

Getting ready to put the finish on some curly cherry plywood I am using
for a curio cabinet. I was wondering, since veneer is so thin on
plywood these days, how to prep the surface for the shellac?

Sand with 180? 220? 320? to start with, I don't know where they stop
at the factory.

Not sand at all and just shellac?

I'm afraid to run the card scraper since the material is so thin, and
I've actually learned to sharpen on I could make some decent curlies
right through!

Alan

Alan wrote: Getting ready to put the finish on some curly cherry
plywood I am using
for a curio cabinet. I was wondering, since veneer is so thin on
plywood these days, how to prep the surface for the shellac?


Sand with 180? 220? 320? to start with, I don't know where they stop
at the factory.


Not sand at all and just shellac?


I'm afraid to run the card scraper since the material is so thin, and
I've actually learned to sharpen on I could make some decent curlies
right through!


Run a test on some scrap, if you've got any... Tom

I start with 150 and have been satisfied; at least I have have not gone
through the veneer!

I saw Tom on TOH using a utility knife blade to scrape the ply. before
building kitchen cabinets to knock down the fuzz and it does work. You don't
push down hard just hold the blade in your hand and run it back and forth
the length of the ply. You'd be suprised how much it takes off without
damaging the veneer.

--
Mike S.
http://members.tripod.com/n0yii/woodworking.htm
"arw01" wrote in message
oups.com...
Getting ready to put the finish on some curly cherry plywood I am using
for a curio cabinet. I was wondering, since veneer is so thin on
plywood these days, how to prep the surface for the shellac?

Sand with 180? 220? 320? to start with, I don't know where they stop
at the factory.

Not sand at all and just shellac?

I'm afraid to run the card scraper since the material is so thin, and
I've actually learned to sharpen on I could make some decent curlies
right through!

Alan

arw01 wrote:
Getting ready to put the finish on some curly cherry plywood I am using
for a curio cabinet. I was wondering, since veneer is so thin on
plywood these days, how to prep the surface for the shellac?

I'd _lightly_ hand sand with 120 or 150 and a block. Then, I'd apply
the first coat of 2-3 lb. shellac, followed by another _light_ 220 hand
sanding. One more coat of shellac, followed with a scuffing with 320.
Continue as necessary from there to really finish.

The coats of shellac will seal the surface, start to build the finish,
and give you a warning if you get heavy handed with the sandpaper.

The finishing of the finish could include wet sanding to 6-800 with
mineral spirits as a lube, with more coats of shellac, or french polishing.

Grab a scrap of the ply to do each step on before you do it to the project.

Barry

"B a r r y" wrote in message
m...
arw01 wrote:
Getting ready to put the finish on some curly cherry plywood I am using
for a curio cabinet. I was wondering, since veneer is so thin on
plywood these days, how to prep the surface for the shellac?

I'd _lightly_ hand sand with 120 or 150 and a block. Then, I'd apply
the first coat of 2-3 lb. shellac, followed by another _light_ 220 hand
sanding. One more coat of shellac, followed with a scuffing with 320.
Continue as necessary from there to really finish.


One-Twenty? On a piece of ply which has already been sanded? Not this
kid.

I'd use the shellac as my sanding seal, realizing that whatever they or I
pressed down into the surface while sanding is going to stand up with the
alcohol. Stearated 220/320 or with mineral spirits lube after the spit
coat, not before.

George wrote:


One-Twenty? On a piece of ply which has already been sanded? Not this
kid.

Right. Just a light, hand pass, with the grain. Nothing crazy, no power.

Barry

I ended up with NO scraps on thise project, the space the curio goes is
less than an inch past 48", and I cut my plywood in such a manner that
even the 8" piece will be used as the spacer from the front of the
drawers it sits upon.

Perhaps a wipe down of some naptha will give some clues as to how
smooth the plywood plant left the veneer. I understand sanding can
hide the grain more than a scraper does, so perhaps with no bend to the
scraper I could knock down the fuzz a bit. There was quite a bit of
curl in this plywood relative to others I have seen in the past, which
is why I dug it out of the stack.. :)

Alan

arw01 says...

I ended up with NO scraps on thise project, the space the curio goes is
less than an inch past 48", and I cut my plywood in such a manner that
even the 8" piece will be used as the spacer from the front of the
drawers it sits upon.

Perhaps a wipe down of some naptha will give some clues as to how
smooth the plywood plant left the veneer. I understand sanding can
hide the grain more than a scraper does, so perhaps with no bend to the
scraper I could knock down the fuzz a bit. There was quite a bit of
curl in this plywood relative to others I have seen in the past, which
is why I dug it out of the stack.. :)

Alan

I would just use a fine grade of steel wool, or if you feel you really
need to sand it 180 or 220. I used cherry ply recently on a large
bookshelf, and mine didn't need much prep at all. Just enough to get
rid of some dust and fuzz. IMO, it is really easy to over do sanding
and scraping and in this case you are just borrowing trouble.