What do you spray drawer boxes with?

[Jason White]

I have a bunch of baltic birch plywood drawer boxes that I just built and need to seal them. Don't want to sand in-between coats if I don't have to because it's a lot of boxes. Is shellac the way to go? Thinking about spraying them.

Jason White

[Richard Coers]

Baltic birch around me is as rough as a corn cob. No way to finish it without sanding between coats. Shellac or water based lacquer is what I use. Finished a desk drawer with Poly about 30 years ago. It had a stink for about 15 years.

[Jim Becker]

You will need at least a quick swipe of 320-400 before spraying the shellac and after the first coat to knock off any fuzzies. A second coat of the shellac should be all you need. The first step could be largely avoided by pre-sanding the plywood before assembly...but it sounds like that ship has sailed.

[John TenEyck]

Same opinion, you will need to sand after the first coat. If you use shellac it won't take but one or two swipes with 320 grit. If you use waterborne for the first coat it will take a lot more effort. Because of that, I first spray a coat of Sealcoat shellac, and then 2 coats of WB finish. I still scuff sand with 320 or 400 grit after the first coat of WB, to get rid of any nibs.

John

[Jason White]

Thanks, guys.

[Mike Henderson]

I spray shellac. You do need to lightly sand. The drawers will smell for a while but the smell will eventually go away.

Mike