FINISHING MDF CABINETS ON THE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE

Hello, everyone! We continued to discover for you. In this episode, we will see FINISHING MDF CABINETS ON THE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE.

Painting the Edges of the Plywood.

If you’ve ever attempted to paint plywood, you’re probably familiar with the disheartening result of edges that look terrible after being painted. The problem with painting the edges of plywood is that the unsealed end grain tends to soak up the paint in an uneven manner because it wants to.

As a result, in order to achieve smooth plywood edges, it is necessary to first seal the end grain. I accomplish this with the help of DAP Premium Wood Filler. It has a very light texture, making it simple to apply and manipulate into the grain of the material. After that, I used a putty knife to make it as smooth as possible.

After allowing it to cure for two hours, I started sanding away any leftover wood filler using sandpaper that had a grain of 220. Sanding with my MicroZip block is one of my favorite activities. It is simple to merely use your fingertips to feel the edges of the object, and you can stop sanding as soon as everything feels smooth.

One layer was sufficient for me, but some people could need two of them. After applying the initial layer of wood filler to my cabinet, one of my preferred next steps is to cover the entire surface with primer, after which I will use additional wood filler to fill any voids that are still evident.

Painting Cabinets Made of Plywood.

To begin, I’ll start by expressing the obvious truth that no one wants to hear: to have a flawless paint finish, you need to sand in between layers of paint. Oh, and you’ll need a primer for it as well.

Base Coat Primer.

Following the completion of the process in which I filled all of the imperfections and sanded the surface clean, I wiped down the entirety of the cabinet in order to remove any and all traces of sanding dust. You can accomplish this task with either a tack cloth or a cloth that is slightly damp with water.

After the cabinet and drawer fronts had dried, I used a foam roller to apply primer over the entirety of the cabinet. I selected a primer with the phrase “for use on bare wood surfaces” written on the label.

After it had dried, I used paper with a grit of 220 to lightly sand all of the surfaces so that any roughness would be removed. I repeated the process of wiping down all of the surfaces in order to eliminate all of the dust.

Paint for Cabinets The next step is to apply the first layer of paint to the cabinets. Now, when it comes to painting the cabinets, you should steer clear of using latex paint if you want a finish that is long-lasting and won’t chip easily. Instead, you should opt for paint made of alkyd.

On the label, it will frequently also state that the product is enamel or cabinet paint. Sherwin-Williams Pro Classic and Benjamin Moore Advance, both of which are water-based varieties, are two of the most common alternatives for paint. Benjamin Moore’s Polo Blue was the color that I decided to go with for the drawer cabinet in my office.

I used a foam roller to apply three layers of paint on the surface. After allowing each coat to dry, I gave it a quick sanding with 320-grit paper and then cleaned off any dust that was left before proceeding to the next coat.

A really useful piece of advice is that you really ought to do something that I didn’t do (because I didn’t know it at the time), but you should do it anyhow. It is termed “laying off” or “tipping off,” and it is the technique that allows one to get a flawless paint finish without making use of a paint sprayer.

After rolling on the paint and while the paint is still wet, you should take a paint brush of high quality and move it across the surface in a very light and even motion. This should be done while the paint is still wet. This contributes to its leveling out and gives it a very smooth finish overall.

Putting the Finishing Touches on the Edge Banding Inside the Drawers.

The presence of exposed plywood edges on drawer boxes is the one feature that immediately brings to mind “DIY furniture” for me. This could be considered a design feature in certain circumstances, particularly when utilizing Baltic Birch plywood. Edge banding is an easy technique to disguise the exposed plywood edges of your drawers, which can be helpful if you want your drawers to have a more polished appearance.

Before putting together the drawers, applying the edge banding is the easiest step to take. In my situation, I attached a strip of edge banding to each of the four faces of my drawers, but only the top one (since no one is going to look at the bottom).

Iron-on edge banding can be purchased on rolls and is very simple to use. These rolls are also available for purchase. You should choose edge banding that is compatible with the species of plywood you are working with, such as birch or maple, and you should make sure that it is slightly broader than the thickness of your plywood.

The application of iron-on edge banding is a very simple process. This was actually my first attempt at doing it, and I’m really happy with how it turned out. I cut a piece that was little longer than what was required, and I set the cotton setting on my iron to high. It took me a few tries before I got the hang of it, but in general.

you want to move the iron slowly while keeping it flat, and you should spend about ten seconds on each region until the glue melts and adheres the item to the surface. If you leave it on for too long, the edge banding will get burn marks; if you remove it too quickly, it will start to peel.

After that, I used a J-roller to make certain that the edge banding had good contact all along the edges, and then I put the piece away so that the glue could cure and the piece could cool down.

After allowing all of the components to cool, I used an edge band trimmer to remove the surplus material. Just apply some pressure to the sides, and then slide it along the top. After that, I used scissors to just trim off the excess. Using a file to smooth down the edges is another useful technique.

I used a sandpaper with a grade of 220 on the edges, being sure to remove any visible adhesive as well as any edge banding that was hanging over so that everything would be flush and smooth. When all is said and done, the plywood you worked with should almost have the appearance of a solid piece of wood.

Protecting the Plywood.

Now, I’ve heard that you can purchase prefinished plywood that is just unfinished on one side, but I’ve never seen that around where I live, so I’ve decided to manufacture my own prefinished plywood instead. Shellac and polycrylic are the two products that I will be using for this.

The first thing that has to be done is to seal the plywood by applying one layer of shellac on it, preferably with a paintbrush made of natural bristles. You won’t need many coats of polyurethane because one coat does a great job of sealing the pores in the plywood.

After the shellac has been allowed to sit for about an hour or two, using paper with 320-grit grit, you can softly sand it to remove any irregularities and make it feel smooth to the touch.