A way to make wood fibers stronger

user-7593791 | Posted in Finishing on February 6, 2020 04:23pm

I have been build French cleats for a closet I have and while in process I have found areas in the plywood where glue has debonded veneer layers and some screws have split the plywood, I would always follow up with soaking it with CA glue.
Is there a type of finish that soaks into the wood that bonds/hardens wood fibers together that also looks decent?

Replies

gulfstar | Feb 06, 2020 04:42pm | #1
Thinned down epoxy.
john_c2 | Feb 06, 2020 05:00pm | #2
No finish will penetrate very deeply. Not enough to make the wood stronger. It can make the surface harder, but that's it.

They make thinned epoxies, such as RotFix, designed to fill in punky areas of rotted wood. But that's another thing entirely.

The only way for a chemical to penetrate into wood and strengthen it is using a vacuum chamber and a resin.
bilyo | Feb 07, 2020 11:06am | #3
I agree with the previous comments. I recommend that you not use plywood for french cleats because of the possibility of de-lamination. Use solid wood.