finishing ply wood

[sdrob]

hello all, i have a bed that i'm making. i have shaped ply wood by laminating 4 sheets of 3mm ply.. the bed is make of pine which i have stained in cedar colour. is there a best way to finish the ply panels before staining and varnishing..eg using a pore filler???
trying to get the best finish as these panels are a large feature..
thanks for your help

[Honorary Bloke]

G'dau sdrob,

You don't say what the plywood facing is made from, so it is difficult to give an answer. Here it could be oak, birch, maple, cherry, or mahogany. Each might require a different approach. Suggest you try your finish on some scrap pieces until you achieve the desired result. Good luck.

[Tex B]

I've had good results with Watson sanding sealer. Just follow the directions on the can, then stain and finish.

As HB says, do a test on a couple of offcuts first to see what you like.

Tex

[soundman]

I work in ply quit a bit.
There are big differences in the spicies used in the faces BUT there are two things you need to understand about ply
1 the face is rotary cut therfore it is full of microscopic cracks that run with the grain.
2 the edge grain needs a lot of attention.

both will demand some means of grain filling and persistence and attention to making sure the grain is appropriately and evenly filled.

I've used two methods with sucess.

1 paste filler
rubbing some form of paste wood filler into the grain and sanding...... you will not get a thourough job in one application 2 or 3 minimum.
be carefull not to oversand or you will pull all the filler out. stain after and do your finish.

2. finish choking
forget staining use a tinted top colour.
apply several coats of sanding sealer till the grain is totaly choked, sanding between coats, the use a tinted top coat till the colour depth is achieved and a cleer over if needed.

remember ply will be pourous and full of tiny cracks, except for burch you will need to work at it to get a nice finish.

cheers