inside finish of cupboard

[silky oak man]

I a,m doing up this old cupboard, looks like hoop pine, I put wax on the outside,and I was looking at putting something on the in timber to take the dry look away?, thank you

[ubeaut]

Mostly the inside is left unfinished as this helps draw moisture away from what's stored inside. This stops mould, mildew etc from forming on clothing, books, etc. and depending on the timber can also halp keep silverfish etc at bay.

[Dovetail]

Hi,

That's very interesting. I read somewhere that the traditionalists often applied a thin (single) coat of shellac to the inside of cupboards and cabinets and I've done that on a pair of bedside tables that are nearing completion. A labour of love I can tell you!

But I'm just completing the drawers and I was intending to do the shellac thing again to the sides and inside of the front face. What would the advice be?

I quite like the moisture absorption argument but I'm also concerned about finishing only one side of a timber surface allowing the untreated surface to get up to all sorts of mischief - like cracking for instance because there has been too much moisture about.

Cheers
Brian

[ubeaut]

Most drawers are left raw except for the front and the first 50mm or so down the side of the drawer for aesthetic purposes. It's ok to coat the inside of the front panel but woulsd leave the rest raw. Same with cupboard doors.

I'm talking about good furniture not imported junk from Indonesia or similar which gets coated everywhere because it's usually semi dry timber and they want it to stay together long enough to get it out of the shop.

Hope this helps.

Cheers