red oak plywood- plain sliced and rotary cut myav

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plain sliced red oak

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I have read with great interest some techniques of sanding plywood in the archives but still have a few questions.

I am making a cabinet with several types of hard wood and am using plywood for the sides.  The project ready for glue.

I have some red oak plywood I am using for the sides and the top layer seems very thin. I'd like to sand, stain and apply a finish coat but am not sure about a few things. Can I use 220 then 320 Brilliant without burning through the outer layer?  Should I use a finer grit paper after the 320?

The top of the cabinet is white oak trimmed in walnut and (wrapped as a skirt wit)h curly maple. (I know it is a weird combination but it's together except for the sanding and finishing and will not be changing materials now) What type of stain would you suggest to use with the red oak to work with the white oak top? And finally, what shellac or poly would be best to use to enhance the walnut and the maple grain?

ANSWER

Longda Wooden manufacture corporation limited www.longda-wood.com 

Lots of questions.  I'll offer my two cents worth, but don't be surprised if you get many differing opinions on finishing.  Ask 10 woodworkers a finishing question and you will get twenty or thirty good answers (and maybe a few crappy ones.

First of all, if there are no defects (scratches, marks, etc) in the plywood, there is no reason to sand very much at all.  I usually stop at 180, or 220 if I am going for a really glossy look.  320 and above are best used after a finish is applied to scuff up the coat to improve adhesion for the next coat.  It is very easy to sand through that top coat of veneer and very hard to fix.

Your combination of woods is unusual.  What do you want to accomplish with your finish?  Do you wish to accent the different woods or to help them blend together?  The most malleable wood is the maple.  A clear water based poly will keep it from darkening, but may make it look plastic-like.  If you want to warm up the maple and darken it a bit, an orange shellac might help.  If you really want to "pop" the grain, start with an oil based product, maybe oil based poly.

Lots of choices.  Let us know more about the look you are going for and maybe we can offer more useful advice...