Replies

1. 
   BG | Jun 21, 2006 05:53am | #1

   Bogart,

   The best advice I've gotten is ...prime it till its perfect...then apply the finish coat. It may take several prime coats before the finish is as smooth as you want.

2. 
   Jamie_Buxton | Jun 21, 2006 06:28am | #2

   If you want a smooth finish, you may find it easier to bite the bullet and buy some other material.  Lauan has large pores, and it takes a lot of primer or grain filler to fill 'em up.   Maple or birch or even MDF start much closer to the surface you want, so there's lots less prep.  

   Of course, you can just put paint on the lauan.   I don't know anything bad about having wood grain telegraph through the paint.

3. 
   SteveSchoene | Jun 21, 2006 02:58pm | #3

   If you don't want the grain to show it will take LOTS of filling to smooth luan.  You would probably want to start with a pore filler--either oil based like Behlen's Pore-O-Pak, or water based.  Perhaps two coats of the pore filler.  Then it would probably take a coat or two of primer--sanded between each coat to finish filling the pores.  Luan ply is often not very blemish free either so the primer may reveal places that need additional filler--such as Durham water putty. 

   Luan is often the cheapest of ply's available, using "cheap" in the pejorative sense of the word and may also come with other defects such as voids that only reveal themselves when cut.   

   Starting with a smooth, tight pored plywood, the birch or maple as suggested, would probably end up being the cheapest solution since the pore filler step wouldn't be needed, and less primer and blemish filling would also be needed.  Also a lot less time is needed.