Decision to pre-finish or not

[Bryan Sevier]

I am looking for some opinions on whether I should pre-finish some tables I am building. I am building 3 tables (sofa, coffee, end) where the base of the table will be dyed dark and the top will be natural cherry. I will be spraying Target EM1000 sealer and EM8000CV.

I am getting close to the point of assembly of the base and I want to know your thoughts on if I should first dye and finish the parts. The joinery is with dominos. The top will be finished separately then joined later on.

I have tried pre-finishing in the past, but the clamps (even though i used pads) left marks in the finish that required sanding to get out. Luckily, there was no colorant used with that project. Is this something others have experienced?

If I do pre-finish - how far should I take it? I have read some people stop just short of the last coat of finish.

Thanks

[Jim Becker]

I tend to pre-finish where the nature of the project would make spraying "more complicated" after assembly. Table bases are not "usually" in that category because they can be supported up-side-down and the often provides good clearance for spraying the inside of legs before spraying the outside surfaces to optimize overspray avoidance on the primary "show" surfaces..

[glenn bradley]

I routinely pre-finish areas that will be problematic or hard to get to. I also pre-finish floating panels so that seasonal movement doesn't allow unfinished areas to peek-a-boo unexpectedly. Racks of spindles in mission furniture cry out for pre-finishing. Small nooks and crannies on smaller pieces or galleries in larger pieces are another place where pre-finishing is a godsend.

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Some of these pre-finished areas still get finished again along with the balance of the piece.

[Bryan Sevier]

Two of the tables will have a shelf - designed similar to below. I was thinking that applying the dye (in the corners) and a coat of finish may be easier when it isnt assembled. Especially when trying to spray with the shelf in the way. But, I am worried about marks being left in the finish.
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[Bill Carey]

I routinely pre-finish everything. I don't enjoy wrestling into corners, etc trying to apply finishes on completed projects. But then I don't spray finishes, and I suppose that would change my procedure some. I use blue tape on the tenons and backer rod in the mortises to keep finished off the glue surfaces, and then hang it all with binder clips. My final finish is usually wipe on poly (8 to 10 coats) and I find the clamp pads do little if any damage to it. With other final finishes, YMMV. I find it much easier to get a finish I'm happy with this way.

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[Bruce Lowekamp]

I asked for advice last week (https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?283550-pre-finishing-taping-vs-sticking-dominos-in) about pre-finishing end tables joined with dominoes. In the end I stuck half dominoes into the mortises in the legs and taped the ends of the stretchers before I put them into a rack to hold them while finishing. But I did it more out of concern about managing squeeze-out since my stretchers were all set back from the legs. (in the end I actually did a good job controlling that during glue-up, though it was still very nice to simply wipe off when it happened)

I prefinished with two coats of EM6000 gloss then did the glue-up then two coats of semi-gloss. Clamping for two hours about 18 hours after the initial two coats left some "scuff" marks most of which wiped off with a damp rag, but I wasn't worried since I was doing two more coats, and I think burn-in took care of whatever issues there were with marks.

I'm new to spraying, and it was harder to spray once assembled since there is a lower shelf on the tables, but I adjusted the pattern so I could hit the legs with the sprayer at an angle. I think I should have reduced the flow even more so I could spray more slowly, but I think two coats after assembly still went pretty well and everything leveled nicely.

Bruce

[Jim Becker]

The shelf would change things for me and I'd consider some level of pre-finishing because of it.

[Stan Calow]

Maybe most people don't have the problems I have with assembly. If I pre-finish, I seem to inevitably get scratches, nicks, dents and unforeseen glue squeeze-out that makes corrections more difficult or visible. Nowadays, I usually do it partially - stain/dye before assembly, top coat after.

[Jim Becker]

Stan, it does take some care to assemble pre-finished components...pads on clamps, for example, and working on a blanket sometimes. It's a trade-off...

[Stan Calow]

Yep. Patience is a hard skill to learn in old age.


Stan, it does take some care to assemble pre-finished components...pads on clamps, for example, and working on a blanket sometimes. It's a trade-off...

[Jim Becker]

Yep. Patience is a hard skill to learn in old age.
Oh, I don't know about that. I retired about two and a half years ago and then started my part time formal woodworking business. For whatever reason, I'm a lot more relaxed now as I'm not pressed for time on projects. That's felt like I seem to have more patience now and I'm making less mistakes that historically were tied to rushing. But that's me. It's not necessarily the same for others.

[Prashun Patel]

"Patience is a hard skill to learn in old age".

In fact, as I am getting older, I am realizing that patience is about the only thing that matters in life and love.