When to Pre-Finish

Article - March 2, 2009

Brandon wrote in and asked:

Thanks for doing everything you do. One quick question if you have some time. I’m wondering how much of a project you assemble prior to beginning to apply finish? I have seen it done different ways. Some assemble after finishing and some finish after assembly. I would appreciate any advice you have.

The confusing answer to your question is, it depends. As a general rule of thumb, I pre-finish whenever it will be difficult or tedious to finish after assembly. For instance, the inside of a small cabinet or any place where three planes meet. Think of a bookcase where a shelf meets the side and the back. An area like that is a royal pain to finish. So I will go out of my way to tape off the joints and finish ahead of time. Although this process is time-consuming, I usually find that it saves me time in the long run. Finishing your parts while they are still flat is incredibly fast and yields much more consistent results when its all said and done. Hope that helps.

So in what situations do you folks pre-finish, if ever?

Discussion

David Pruett March 2, 2009 12:37 pm

Panels should always be pre-finished so that the unfinished edge doesn’t show when the panel shrinks in low humid environments.

Reply
Todd A. Clippinger March 2, 2009 3:52 pm

As a professional, I second Dave Pruett and Marc in their answers.

When you are doing it, taping off etc, it seems laborious and so the next time you finish after assembly. After fighting the results of blow-back in a confined space or getting unfinished lines showing from a panel that has shrunk, you realize the other method wasn’t so bad after all.

Reply
Marty March 2, 2009 5:40 pm

Stole my answer David! I also pre-finish the panels before I cut the grooves in the rails and styles. That extra micrometer of finish makes a difference, trust me.
Other than that, I finish all pieces that look like they would be a pain in the a** to get to and where the finish might run because i couldn’t control the amount being applied.

Reply
Shaun Harper March 2, 2009 7:34 pm

Ahh the universal answer lives on. I was an economics major in college and had to answer questions like this all the time. What happens to X when Y happens? A. It goes up. B. It goes down. C. It depends.

But more seriously, can someone comment upon when/how to finish the back side of something. Do you finish all at the same time trying to suspend the piece off the table or finish one side and turn over when the first side is dry?

Taping is most definately worth it….

Reply
- Bill Messersmith June 18, 2018 7:08 am
  
  I have made pieces using some narrow long pieces of wood by putting nails through them. Finish the back side of your project then lay it on the points of those nails and you’ll never see where your project laid on the points of those nails. Then you can finish the front of your project.
  
  Reply
Tim TAN March 2, 2009 8:33 pm

Ah … I prefinish everything. Why? If I don’t, I’ll be simply too lazy and dumb to figure out what should be, and what should not be. I just do all the pieces before assembly.

This is also a good thing if you work in a small shop, because once the piece is assembled, you are pretty much ready to move it out and check it off. Great if you are building a slew of cabinets…

My 2 cents’ worth…

Tim

Reply
Skee March 3, 2009 6:53 pm

Shaun,

Marc featured a product called “painters triangles” I think for the holiday guide. I sent the holiday guide to my presenter buying committee, and magically, some blue triangles.

I’m going to try them out this spring and see how they hold up… I am concerned about the tiny impression they are going to leave, but I think live with it, especially if I’m doing multiple coats.

Reply
- Shaun Harper March 4, 2009 7:23 pm
  
  I bought them too – about a week after Marc featured them. Haven’t had a chance to use them yet. All the demo’s of finishing be it wipe-on, brush, or spraying never show the opposite side of a project being done. Even Flexner doesn’t address it that much in his book.
  
  Reply
Hugh M. March 4, 2009 2:00 pm

Until recently, I always finished my project after I assembled them. But I am in the process of completing a secretary for my wife. I decided to use alder wood instead of cherry, to presumably save money. That was a big mistake for several reasons. The major one I am battling now is glue that was not completely removed during assembly. Alder sucks up glue like nothing else and deep into the fibers. I can’t even sand it out so I have been forced to scrap it off with glass. It has been a real disaster. On top of the gluing problems, I learned that alder is way too soft to hold screws for doors. So I had to embed maple for the screws. That slowed completion down substantially as jigs had to be made to cut in mortises. All in all, I will probably not use alder again and if I do, I will finish before I assemble anything.

Reply
Joey March 4, 2009 7:35 pm

I did several large painted entertainment centers for a builder I use to work for, and I prime and first coat the whole sheets of plywood with paint. this saved me lots of time. esp on the interiors, which needed to be finished for balance.then I cut all my parts and did my joinery. The finished paint job came out really nice and didn’t take as much time as I estimated. Since then I have done the same things with wood projects where I use plywood, esp the interiors of kitchen cabinet. we have pre-finished plywood available from our cabinet supply company and I have used them on a couple of jobs and its a great product, but has limited colors and the cost can be an issue for some jobs. kitchens is where I tread to use it the most if can money in the job for it.
other times I pre-finish is if there are areas I know I can’t get to after the project is assembled, I usually try to finish my projects so that nothing is left unfinished to draw moisture. If I’m using oil sometime I set up a trough and just dip parts in wipe them and let them dry on a rack then assemble my project. this has been a good system for the production of small project, its quick saves finish and I get good results.

Joey

Reply
- Mike August 17, 2010 6:51 pm
  
  Hi Joey,
  
  I just bought a sheet of beautiful pre-finished sapele ply for an entertainment center. I thought it would speed up the job and allow me to focus on my joinery. after I got it I started worrying about my dadoes and rabits. Not sure how the glue will hold up. Got any advice? Can I proceed as planned or to I need toi make adjustments to the build?
  
  Thanks for the help,
  
  Mike
  
  Reply
David Clark September 17, 2020 3:18 pm

I see this forum has not been touched in awhile… so now I am :-)

I am ALMOST done with a 2 yr project of renovating my kitchen, long story and yes I am slow and yes I am still married. I have build frames to take the cabinets to the ceiling and have put LED lighting behind the frames. Planning on putting frosted glass in door frames to match the cabinet doors. We refinished all of the existing cabinets from natural maple to a med-nutmeg color, took 4-6 coats to get the color my wife wanted (General GEl-Stain on maple – I don’t recommend it, poor penetration) …
Built a router table (yea new toys!), just routed the stock for the rails and stiles. I am thinking about staining the stock before I cut it to size and route the rail edge.
Is this a good plan or will I have issues with non-stained seams?
OR
Cut the stiles and rails to size, then stain? I need to cut them eventually in order to get accurate measurements for the glass to be cut.
Thanks,
David

Reply

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When to Pre-Finish

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