Thread: finishing the inside of a cabinet

If it was me I would not finish the inside of the side board.

I would finish both sides of any doors and the front of the draws. If the draws are on wooden runners I would wax those.

I know that over time the smell normally disappears. As an example I once used silicon to attach a piece of glass tube into a hollowed out piece of wood. That smell lasted for over three months. Now when I pick up this piece I put it to my nose to check and reassure myself.

Waxing would be quick and easy to do and will just "finish off" the project. Whatever you use, leave the drawers open until all the smell goes. Even the mildest of products, if inside is treated and no ventilation, the smell will linger a lot longer.

Originally Posted by Christos

If it was me I would not finish the inside of the side board.

That's asking for trouble. Remember the golden rule: Always do the same thing to both sides.
Not as much of a problem with veneered MDF (still highly recommended), but an absolute MUST on solid timber

What he said.

You know, that's interesting advice.

I've never seen a cabinet that's finished on the inside. I thought there was a reason for that.... I was going to ask somebody why this was, but then saw this thread.

When I was out at the Bungendore Woodworks, even those were unfinished. Even the tables undersides looked barely finished in 80 grit and every cabinet and wardrobe was finished rough.

To verify further, I checked out Harvey Bloody Norman and a local fine furniture company's showroom. All rough.

Is this just commercial expediency?

I assumed it was because of some trendiness in exuding the smell of the timber!

I wouldn't be using Harvey Norman as a benchmark for anything furniture related. Had a look at the Bungendore Woodworks website and they have some nice stuff (and a price to match, I'm sure), so hearing that things aren't finished properly is disappointing.

Every single piece of furniture that leaves our factory is finished inside and out; unseen surfaces and table undersides don't get the full treatment, but every surface is sealed, at the very least.

The only possible exception I can think of is cedar/camphor wardrobes where you actually need the timber to be raw to get the bug-repellent effect.

Originally Posted by elanjacobs

I wouldn't be using Harvey Norman as a benchmark for anything furniture related.

Nooooo.... Absolutely not. They are the 1980's McDonalds of the industry, truly awful food ("chicken" nuggets??). Think back to that horror.... but people do shop there, in massive quantities. They are useful for comparison. Sometimes their prices are very high. I go and look and watch....It interests me why people perceive certain quality levels, especially when shopping from such a place.

I watch them looking at expensive cabinets and wonder why they don't contact Dunstone Design, or Neil Erasmus, or any of the other 10 quality bespoke makers in Canberra.

Originally Posted by elanjacobs

Had a look at the Bungendore Woodworks website and they have some nice stuff (and a price to match, I'm sure), so hearing that things aren't finished properly is disappointing.

I don't know about being not finished properly. Every single thing there is art. The quality is outstanding. If the insides are as I saw, it absolutely would have a reason for it. This is what made it interesting.

Originally Posted by elanjacobs

The only possible exception I can think of is cedar/camphor wardrobes where you actually need the timber to be raw to get the bug-repellent effect.

Ooh yeah. Cedar! And the lovely smell

Originally Posted by Evanism

I don't know about being not finished properly. Every single thing there is art. The quality is outstanding. If the insides are as I saw, it absolutely would have a reason for it. This is what made it interesting.

Just had a thought about that. We have a spray-on poly finish that's 0% gloss and it really looks like there's nothing there (makes life hard for the polishers cos they can't see where they're up to after the first coat), maybe they use something similar.

Price is also part of the marketing strategy; charge more than it's worth to make people think it's better than it is. *cough*festool*cough*apple*cough*

my preference for cabinet interiors is shellac

odor free, once the metho has evaporated

My rule is, if you can see it finish it. Even if it is just one coat of something.

Originally Posted by Evanism

.....I watch them looking at expensive cabinets and wonder why they don't contact Dunstone Design, or Neil Erasmus, or any of the other 10 quality bespoke makers in Canberra......

That's an easy one to determine a possible response. They don't know about them.

Originally Posted by ian

my preference for cabinet interiors is shellac

odor free, once the metho has evaporated

James Krenov also advocated plain blonde shellac for the insides of cabinets. He claimed varnishes or modern finishes would leave a smell as they slowly gassed out over several months and oils would go rancid.