Painting half blind dovetailed drawer fronts
lauriamc
| Posted in General Discussion on
I am making Mike Pekovich’s Shaker Chimney Cupboard with some modifications. First, I am making it out of soft maple which will be painted. Second, the back panel will be quarter sawn white oak that will not be painted. For the drawers I wanted to paint the drawer front the same as the cabinet, but make the sides and back of the drawers from the same white oak I am using for the back panel. Once the dovetails are cut and the drawer assembled are there any good tips on how to paint the drawer front but keeping the paint off of the sides (which will just get done shellac)?
Replies
This seems relevant.
https://www.finewoodworking.com/2015/09/30/how-to-use-traditional-milk-paint
I watched this video when I was contemplating painting the drawer fronts of a shaker end table I made based on a Mike Korsiac design.
If you want the whole side unpainted, including the endgrain of the front, you can finish the sides with multiple coats of shellac, then sand and paint the front after taping the sides. Any slight amount of paint that might mar the sides can then be removed with a sharp card scraper removing only a slight amount of the shellac. To make this work, you need to apply enough coats of shellac to seal and smooth the end grain, so no paint can get lodged in the pores.
If you are going to paint the ends of the fronts, including the pins, you need to finish both front and sides before glue-up, keeping finish out of the glue surfaces. Better make sure with your trial clamping that you don't need to change the dimensions of either part.
Definitely shellac the sides first. It will make any oopsies with paint easy to fix.
This shows a careful artist brush application of stain. Might work for paint..
I tried not to think about it too much and just painted enough that raw wood wouldn't be seen from the front.
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