polyurethane on raw plywood

[Gregory Chang]

I am building a speaker and plan to put on the the miniwax "Wipe-on Poly" without any stain. Do I still need to use the preconditioner?

thanks,

gychang

[Mark Engel]

I have used Minwax Wipe-On poly on raw oak plywood many times with no conditioner. So far I have experienced no problems. I do use several (6+) coats to maeke sure of the coverage.

I have a question for you though. I was wondering why you are using plywood instead of MDF, which is more often used for speaker boxes.

[Steve Schoene]

Pre-conditioner (or other wash coat) is only needed to obtain more even staining on certain "blotch" prone woods such as pine, poplar, maple and cherry. It is needed when a clear finish is applied, nor is it needed on oak, walnut or mahogany which take stain evenly anyway. Virtually all clear finishes (except certain spray finishes) do not need any "primer" or "sealer" coat, but make their own best initial coating.

[Gregory Chang]

I have used Minwax Wipe-On poly on raw oak plywood many times with no conditioner. So far I have experienced no problems. I do use several (6+) coats to maeke sure of the coverage.

I have a question for you though. I was wondering why you are using plywood instead of MDF, which is more often used for speaker boxes.

thanks, will use it without a conditioner.

I have built several speakers, both using MDF and plywood. 3/4" Baltic Birch plywood is best in my opinion.

gychang