For interior white painted cabinets I’m wondering what plywood is good… I’m thinking of using Lowe’s 3/4″ sanded pine. I saw it and I’m thinking it’s good enough for painted cabinets. It’s about $35 per full sheet. What do you finishers think about that??
Can’t find it online, but I saw a pile of it at my local lowes…
Dave Niemeyer
Replies
Home center plywood is hit or miss, and their sources change over time, and by region. Some is utterly worthless.
Having said that, I had good luck recently with some of the paint grade ply at Lowe's. There were a lot more laminations than their usual offerings, no voids, and a nice smooth surface for paint. It wasn't pine, for sure -- I don't know what it was. But it was good quality, and a decent price.
Hey,
Pine plywood can be good. Choose carefully, check how it's graded.
If money's no problem, your best bet is Baltic birch plywood. It can be pricey, and it's heavier than regular plywood but the surface is smooth and takes any finish well. Gaps and voids are virtually nonexistent.
Good luck,
Mikaol
You might also consider MDF. It is heavy and requires somewhat different fastening techniques but, the surfaces are smooth and it takes paint beautifully. Except, any exposed edges will require sealant as they are quite porous.
I can highly recommend MDO plywood for this. You can work it like plywood (using standard plywood joinery including dadoes, screws, biscuits, etc) and the surface is dead flat and ready for primer straight away. Also not as heavy as MDF, or as dusty to cut. You might want to scuff-sand the surface for good primer adhesion, but unless there is damage you won't have to fill at all.
It can be hard to find in some places, but here in the middle of the country I can find it in stock for about $60 at Menard's (which I hate, but sometimes you gotta) and my specialty wood supplier can order it in.
I dread the day I run out of offcuts from my last MDO project because it's super handy to have around the shop for fences, jig bases, etc.
It's more money than the material you mentioned, but you will save a ton of time and aggravation at the finishing stage, and the end result is likely to be superior, as well. The surface of the sheets straight from the store is what you are always shooting for but never quite achieve with veneer faces on any panel you plan to paint.
My local Lowes in the northeast has MDO, but only in half inch. It's excellent for paint. It's also waterproof, and is often used for outdoor signs. Other paint grade plywood I've seen are interior only.
MDF can be good, but I used enough of it years ago that I hope never to again. It's heavy, creates crazy dust, and the edges are problematic.
My opinion: MDF is not wood, it is the stuff bad furniture is made of and therefore shouldn't be a topic in a magazine called "Fine Woodworking".
Well said.
True, mdf's not wood, but it's good for making router templates among other things. To discount its use in a woodshop due to semantics is folly. Kind of like not mentioning screws or metal rulers 'cause they're not wood.
And imho, paint & wood should never appear in the same sentence.
Mikaol
My remark has very little to do with semantics. I'm truly concerned about the worldwide use of natuaral resources to produce inferior materials, materials that don't last, to make products that have a very limited lifespan.
Fine Woodworking is a haven for woodworkers making wonderful furniture that can be enjoyed for a very long time and to achieve that they use wood, not MDF.
Thanks for all the replies guys. I'll steer clear of MDF, I'll consider the 1/2" MDO for a back panel where some folks would use 1/4" but I'm holding out for quality 3/4 birch plywood everywhere else. Man.... Plywood is expensive!!!!
Break the price down into board feet, it will make you feel better. $65 / sheet is crazy, but $2/ board foot is pretty sweet!
Assuming you're talking about boxes, that's a lot of labor and painting to achieve what double sided melamine will do for 1/2 the price and 1/10 the time!
Yeah, I hear the sneering out there :-D. I agree MDF is a poor product for kitchen cabs, but at the same time, cabinet making is not "fine woodworking".
I suggest you take a look at what the industry is using. You'll quickly find out they don't paint plywood for cab boxes. Talk to a commercial supplier the one's I deal with are very happy to talk to a novice.
I think you'll find that prefinished ply and melamine are the two main materials used by commercial shops.
"My opinion: MDF is not wood..."
So what? It is, in fact, made from wood products as is plywood. Both have there uses, their good features, and their bad.
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