finishing exposed ends of birch plywood

[josh allison]

I have several pieces of contemporary furniture that are made from bent birch plywood and have the laminations exposed on the ends. The end laminations, like the plywood surfaces are finished clear and the ends are as smooth as the faces. I am interested in adding some built shelving to my home that is detailed similarly with the laminations exposed. Does anyone know the proper process/ product for finishing the end laminations of birch plywood? Thanks!

[Greg Crawford]

Josh,

I don't know if baltic birch is used in bent laminations, but it sounds like the product you have or something similar. In any case, baltic birch and apple ply are plywoods with good quality wood used in all the layers, making a finished edge very attractive. If you're going to make flat shelves, that's what I would suggest. Then, as long as the edges are well sanded, varnish, shellac, laquer or polyurethane should make a nice clear coat.

By the way, baltic birch is a plywood that comes in 5' x 5' sheets, while apple ply is a plywood that comes in the more common 4' x 8' sheets, and not actually made of apple wood. It's NOT the stuff you find at Lowe's or Home Depot.

[Jason Hanna]

I have a desk that purposely exposes all of the baltic burch edged. I gave the entire project a very light "oak" colored stain to warm it up a touch, and then several coats of wipe on poly. I found that the end grain finished nicely. Half of the plys match the sides (the half that are long grain) and the other half were slightly darker making a nice contrast. Experiment on a scrap piece, I don't think you will be disappointed.

If you're going to be very picky, plan on some extra wood just in case you happen to cut through and expose the rare small void. I typically don't find many and can usually turn it to the back when I do.

[Jim Becker]

BB is probably the best "plywood" product when it comes to finishing the edges "exposed". Sand it well and use some blond or super-blond de-waxed shellac to help fill any imperfections the same way you might for filling the grain in some hardwoods. Several applications and sanding back will get you a baby-smooth surface with minimal color alteration.

[glenn bradley]

These edges are simply sanded and sealed with de-waxed shellac. Used 400 grit between coats and a touch of 0000 on the top coat of shellac. Sorry about the sawdust but you get the idea.

[josh allison]

The local Wurth dealer carrys Baltic Birch BB-BB in 5x5 and 4x8 sheets so that is what i plan to use. Poly is about the extent of my finishing experience. Any beginner tips for using de-waxed shellac? Thanks for all your help- very useful.

[glenn bradley]

The local Wurth dealer carrys Baltic Birch BB-BB in 5x5 and 4x8 sheets so that is what i plan to use. Poly is about the extent of my finishing experience. Any beginner tips for using de-waxed shellac? Thanks for all your help- very useful.

It does not have the plastic protection quality of poly but is soooo much easier to use IMHO. I generally use a 2lb cut (that would be Zinsser's 'Seal Coat' right out of the can.

If I am looking to use it as a light sealer under a finish or between stain coats I hit it 2:1 with denatured alcohol and apply it ahead of the pad with a squeeze bottle.

I sand with 400 grit between coats (half hour to 45 min to dry enough to sand so it goes along quickly). If you make a major mistake (which you almost have to try to do) you can smooth things out or remove runs with a rag wet with DNA. The thickness of film desired is just a matter of more coats.

I take a piece of cheese cloth about 10" square and fold it up to a cube about 1 1/2" across. I wrap this in a lint free cloth (washed-to-death T-shirt scraps work well) and use this as a pad. The cheese cloth will hold a large amount of shellac but releases it easily under the light pressure of your padding motion.

Play with it on a piece of scrap. I think you'll learn fast and really like it.

P.s. If there are any small defects in your edge, fill them with a light colored sandable wood putty like Elmer's. Once the shellac hits the putty it is very hard to tell it from the birch.

[josh allison]

Thanks Glenn. So you suggest Zinnser Seal Coat as the final finish. I only ask becasue reading about it on Zinsser's website suggests it is sealer typically used under top coats. If it works just fine as the finish coat after build up, great. Just want to confirm.

Thanks,
Josh

[Jim Becker]

Josh, pretty much any "formulation" of shellac can be used as a final finish including the Zinsser Seal Coat product. In fact, I spray it all the time just for that purpose. Shellac isn't like a varnish, too, in the respect that each application becomes one and the same with the previous...there are no layers as new applications melt into the previous.

If you are brushing, you want a VERY good brush...not a cheap one...for best results and remember that shellac "dries" very quickly. You cannot "work" the finish like you can with slow-drying varnishes. Get it on with a smooth stroke, keeping a wet edge, and only one or two quick smoothing strokes if you can manage that. Practice if you can...the stuff isn't expensive. Once you get a feel for shellac, you'll likely love it like so many of us do. And don't believe all the "durablity" myths...it's great stuff and will stand up to a lot of abuse. Further, it's easily reparable, unlike varnish.

[Howard Acheson]

One thing you must keep in mind is that scandinavian furniture is made with scandinavian birch plywood. This plywood is made with all birch laminations. Almost all the birch plywood you buy in the US will only have birch veneer on the outside veneer with cheap, non-birch, plies for the interior plies. In other words, it may not, and probably won't look as nice as what you are looking for.

What you need is to purchase a plywood product called "baltic birch", "Finnish Birch" or "Russian Birch". This plywood has all birch plies.

But, from what you describe as bent lamination construction will have end grain that is all end grain plies. Plywood will have alternating grain (end grain then edge grain, etc) in it's end grain. It will look different from the end of a bent lamination ply.

The way you get the best appearence is to highly sand the ends and edges. Sand up to at least 220 grit and maybe up to 320 grit.

[glenn bradley]

Thanks Glenn. So you suggest Zinnser Seal Coat as the final finish. I only ask becasue reading about it on Zinsser's website suggests it is sealer typically used under top coats. If it works just fine as the finish coat after build up, great. Just want to confirm.

Thanks,
Josh

I have used Seal Coat as the sealer and built it up as the final coat on BB ply shop cabinets that I want to look nice (for a shop anyway) and have had no problems with durability. I love the stuff (other shellacs too).

Shop surfaces that will take a beating like a benchtop or some jigs, I use BLO as recommended by Jim Becker in response to an old inquiry of mine (thanks again Jim). This does not apply to your specific question but in a nutshell, shellac for a nice finish and BLO for other stuff.

Shellac will go soft or otherwise be affected by alcohol and other solvents so I wouldn't finish-coat a cocktail table with it. Bookshelves or dressers and such, absolutely.