Finishing inside of a dresser?

[Bill Sanson]

Well I am getting there with my dresser project and am now thinking about the finish. I am pretty sure that I know the answer here but I want to make sure. I am thinking with wood movement that I should finish the inside of the dresser the same as I would the outside? Does this make sense. I also plan to put a couple layers on the drawers.

thanks for the help

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Bill,

I can only speak for myself and I'm no expert.

I would finish the outside and use shellac on the inside as it will not offfgass as long as other finishes.

Now I await corrections by the finishing experts.

[Joe Chritz]

Best practice? Yes

Necessary or even common? Not so much

The advice to use some non oil finish inside is good. Most oil base finishes off gas for a long time. I finish as much as practical before assembly so that is generally where my interiors get finished but if I can't I only do what is visible or may be touched.

Same for drawers. Some non oil base finish. Shellac or waterbase is pretty typical.

Joe

[Mike Null]

I'm with Ken and Joe. Use fresh shellac.

[Chris Friesen]

It's actually fairly common to see the inside of dressers and the outside of drawer sides/backs unfinished. If you think about it, most of the time the drawers will be shut so there won't be a lot of air getting to the inside of the dresser. Also, some finishes on the outside of the drawers can lead to it "sticking" rather than gliding smoothly (assuming this is old-school wood-on-wood and not using drawer slides).

I do agree with using something on the inside of the drawer as it makes it easier to get it smooth so that clothes don't catch on any small irregularities.

Whatever you decide to do, use something like shellac or lacquer that dries quickly and doesn't stink. Varnish tends to take a long time to fully cure.

[Bill Sanson]

Thanks guys I appreciate it! That makes a lot of sense, I am going to shellac the insides and then use the same finish as I did on the crib that I just posted. Thanks again and I will let you know how I make out.

[Tony Bilello]

It does go against common sense to treat both sides equally. However, as someone already mentioned, their is very little air movement inside the carcase. I build furniture and also refinish in my shop and I can tell you for fact that so far I have not seen any commercially made furniture that had the insides finished. I personally put one coat on the inside just to make myself feel better about it but I know it is not necessary.
I use lacquer because it is fast drying and the odor is dissapated quickly, so I suppose your choice of shellac should work for the same reason.