# How to prepare sanded plywood for painting



## garek007 (Jan 8, 2016)

Hi,

I just realized that the cabinets I built were made out of sanded plywood, not hardwood plywood. I'd rather not rebuild them. Is there something I can do to prepaire them for painting to give them a smooth finish? I plan on priming them, but is there something I should do before I paint the primer coat?


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

A lot depends on the plywood and how glossy you plan to paint them. Sanded plywood is usually pine and sometimes the plywood is sanded deeper on the soft part of the wood showing the harder part of the grain through the paint. Some of it is sanded so coarse you can see the texture of the sanding in the paint. About all you can do is take one cabinet or a piece of scrap and prime and paint it to completion and see what it looks like. Very likely all it would take is an extra coat or two of primer to bring the surface up to what it would be if you had used hardwood plywood. The glossier the finish the more the defects in the plywood will show. 

If you have an orbital sander you might prime the wood and let dry well and sand it with 180 grit discs until the primer is going through in spots and then apply another coat of primer and see what happens.


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## garek007 (Jan 8, 2016)

I don't have an orbital sander, but I do have a palm sander. So I should prime with one coat, then use the sander? 

I don't need gloss, it's a satin finish, so I may be ok.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

garek007 said:


> I don't have an orbital sander, but I do have a palm sander. So I should prime with one coat, then use the sander?
> 
> I don't need gloss, it's a satin finish, so I may be ok.


If there is an irregularity in the wood the palm sander won't flatten it. You would be better off with a hard rubber sanding block to sand the primer. The bottom of a palm sander is soft and would bend to the shape of the wood.


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## garek007 (Jan 8, 2016)

oh gotcha, yes I have a rubber sanding block. Luckly, there is only a small amount of wood on this cabinet that shows. so I might be ok. Maybe I'll even take a thin veneer or another piece of thin wood to cover the sanded plywood


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## garek007 (Jan 8, 2016)

So I painted some primer on that panel last night and I can see how I'm going to need to sand a bit to get it to the right place. I also have some exposed screws which I guess I would spackle over. So I'm going to attempt to sand it down, but in case I don't like the results, I bought some masonite panels this morning which I figure I'll nail to the side with finishing nails and paint that instead. Does that sound like it would work?


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Primer always reveals things you didn't notice before. I bet you can fix everything without resorting to putting masonite over it. I like using automotive bondo to spackle with.


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## garek007 (Jan 8, 2016)

I have some bondo! Alright, I'll sand a bit before resorting to the masonite. Thanks!


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## garek007 (Jan 8, 2016)

so you are right. I actually used a thin layer of bond over the area which will be exposed and sanded and my surface was nice and smooth. I think I'll not have to resort to the masonite. Thanks for all your help!


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

garek007 said:


> so you are right. I actually used a thin layer of bond over the area which will be exposed and sanded and my surface was nice and smooth. I think I'll not have to resort to the masonite. Thanks for all your help!


Bondo is great. That's why I buy it by the gallon.


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