finishing inside of drawers....

[Phil Winn]

When finishing the inside of a "clothing" drawer, varnish is out due to its
potential smell; what about Deft Lacquer or shellac? The wood is
Curly maple with popular bottoms.
Thanks,
Phil

[Alan Turner]

Either will be fine, although shellac is my go-to finish for this application. One coat, thinned, sanded back with 320, and then a 2d coat, steel wooled, and lightly waxed. Sometimes I finish drawers before any assembly, taping off the joint areas.

[Tom Jones III]

Newbie question here - Why do you finish the inside of drawers?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Tom...I'm a newbie at building furniture too....but I'd guess finishing the inside of a drawer would reduce the expansion and contraction due to humidity changes and improve the wear over time.

[Bart Leetch]

Either will be fine, although shellac is my go-to finish for this application. One coat, thinned, sanded back with 320, and then a 2d coat, steel wooled, and lightly waxed. Sometimes I finish drawers before any assembly, taping off the joint areas.


The underlined statement above is the way to go Deft is nice if you can stand the stink while using it I don't know about the long term. I have used Deft & don't like the smell while using it. The smell invades everything.

[Jules Dominguez]

I attended a seminar by an old master woodworker and furniture designer, Tage Frid, many years ago.
Tage said to use shellac or lacquer on the inside of drawers, and don't finish the outside of drawers or inside of cabinet.

[Earl Kelly]

At the very least I would wax the inside of drawers. I usually spray with laquer, let them dry a couple 2-3 days and no problems. I want the drawers to feel as good as the rest of the piece.

[Jim Becker]

I use shellac or WB acrylic on drawers in cabinetry, but am inclined not to finish them in furniture.

[Jim Dunn]

Why not build them out of prefinished cabinet grade plywood? Thats what I did for some drawers in my mitre bench. Seemed to work out great. No odor, no mess and no hastle with the finish.

[Jim Becker]

Why not build them out of prefinished cabinet grade plywood? Thats what I did for some drawers in my mitre bench. Seemed to work out great. No odor, no mess and no hastle with the finish.

Certainly an option, but only if you are happy with plywood for the application. That's a subjective choice. (You still would have to deal with the edges if you want them "finished", too)

[Alan Turner]

Ease of cleaning is my main reason for finishing the inside of a drawer. Plus, it gives a nice hand. No splinters in sweaters, etc.

As to the Frid statement, I will bite the bullet and say that I disagree. Balancing the finish on a piece, whether solid or ply, is important, and shellac is what I use on the inside of a carcase, and all sides of drawer parts. I know that the insides of 18th Cen. pieces were oft not finished, but then I would put my insides up agaisnt theirs (although not the outsides, depending). (: (:

[Carl Eyman]

You've made at least one piece you can put up against anyone's. Everyone will know I'm talking about your block front knee hole desk.

[Brian Hale]

I use shellac on drawer parts and all hidden soild wood (plywood is fine unfinished if you can't see it) as stated, it prevents snags and splinters.

Brian :)

[Jules Dominguez]

I understand where you're coming from, Alan. What Tage said seemed to be a contradiction of the old rule of treating both sides of a board the same. On the other hand, I think most carcases are left unfinished on the inside, with no bad results, and Tage had a world of experience to draw on, having started his career as an apprentice in "the old school". And experience is hard to argue with.
Given that no finish can prevent water vapor from entering or leaving wood over time, I've always wondered if the rule of treating both sides alike was related to potential short-term effects only. I'd like to hear more opinions on this subject.

[Brian Hale]

That was always my understanding, treat both sides of a board the same. I always spray at least two coats of finish on the under side of a table with the thinking that moisture will enter the wood equally form both sides, which prevents cupping/bowing etc. I can't say if my methods are correct but i haven't had any problems yet (knock on wood)


Brian :)

[Jim Dunn]

Certainly an option, but only if you are happy with plywood for the application. That's a subjective choice. (You still would have to deal with the edges if you want them "finished", too)

Wasn't thinking of a piece of "furniture" when I wrote about the drawers. DOH!

Not sure how to add your comments in a box like everyone else seems to be able to do. PM me Jim and let me know how to do it.

[Wes Bischel]

Certainly an option, but only if you are happy with plywood for the application. That's a subjective choice. (You still would have to deal with the edges if you want them "finished", too)

Wasn't thinking of a piece of "furniture" when I wrote about the drawers. DOH!

Not sure how to add your comments in a box like everyone else seems to be able to do. PM me Jim and let me know how to do it.

Jim,
Lower right hand corner - QUOTE

Oh, and another vote for shellac - two quick coats, and a scotchbrite pad makes 'em silky smooth without stink.

Wes

[Jerry Golick]

What Tage said seemed to be a contradiction of the old rule of treating both sides of a board the same.

FWIW - I believe in this month's FW there is an article which says that there is no need to treat both sides of the board. After much testing they conclude that it makes no difference at all.

[Howard Acheson]

>> old rule of treating both sides of a board the same

I never heard of that being a general rule. It is certainly a good idea if the panel is a tabletop with little underlying support. But, for cabinetry, that has glued in cross support and other structure supporting panels, finishing only one side is not a problem.

[Steve Clardy]

I use pre-finished maple ply for kitchen cabinets. They use lacquer on them.
Anything else, I use lacquer. The smell doesn't LINGER like other finishes.
Steve

[Keith Christopher]

I feel like i'm doing something wrong. LOL. I have yet to apply finish to the inside of any of the drawers I've made. They're all doing fine, no warping, or checking. Nothing. They're simple drawers sides 1/2" stock maple, ply bottoms. *shrug* Can't see the inside anyway, they're full of stuff. :rolleyes:

[Jim Dunn]

Jim,
Lower right hand corner - QUOTE

Oh, and another vote for shellac - two quick coats, and a scotchbrite pad makes 'em silky smooth without stink.

Wes

Thanks Wes:)

I did it, I did it:eek::D:D

[Jeff A. Smith]

I use shellac on the inside of drawers -- dries so fast, and there's no "tack" to it. Stuff never sticks to it -- not even newspaper laying in the bottom of a drawer will stick. Plus, it smells good for a short while and then has no smell at all. ;)

Jeff Smith
Athens, AL

[Steve Wargo]

I apply shellac to the insides of my drawers and carcasses as well. And usually wax the drawer sides afterwards (but only the outsides). I think that it just makes the piece look "finished".

[Mike Kelly]

I always use shellac on drawers and insides of furniture for all of the above reasons. I have also used it on an ancient chest of drawers that had a very musty dirty smell from who knows what had been in it for 200 years. Two coats and light sanding made the drawers look like brand new (bad for antiques) but they were useable for anything with no splinters. The bottoms of the drawers were one piece tight grained solid wood over 20" deep. You can see the rough plane marks on the undersides.

[Byron Trantham]

I always finish the inside of projects. I use shellac, usually two coats.

One the earlier posts asked about Deft lacquer smell. Nitrocellulose does smell very strong but unlike varnishes, it's smell does dissipate rather quickly. I started using nitrocellulose but couldn't deal with the smell so I started converting everything i do to water borne material. I have not been disappointed. Jim Becker turned me onto WB shellac from Target Coatings. I bought a quart but have not had a chance to use it. When I do, and if works as well as alcohol based shellac, my whole finishing schedule with be WB. Sorry I got a little side tracked. :rolleyes: