Do you finish parts before assembly or after??

[Duane Bledsoe]

I just finished staining a wooden shelf I built. I assembled all the parts with glue and brad nails before finishing it and then I found it a little harder to get into the corners to stain than I thought it would be. I solved it with the tip of a slotted screwdriver inside the staining rag but I'm sure it won't always be that easy to get to the inside corners if I build anything larger with enclosed spaces. Also, if I was to apply any brush on finish I'd have to be extremely careful not to get it on the adjoining panels with the brush in the corners. So how do you do this?? The only way I can think of is to finish the parts before assembly but then if that's how you do it then what about wood glue adhesion to the finished surfaces??

[Kent A Bathurst]

.......... and then I found it a whole darn lot harder to get into the corners to stain than I thought it would be.

Duane - corrected your sentence for you.

I virtually always finish the components before assembly. This includes dye, stain, etc right through varnishing. I will sometimes - rarely - need to go back with a thinned wipe-on coat of varnish to touch up after assembly, and this is usually because I was careless in assembly.

You are correct - the glue won't work on a finished surface. I use Famous Blue Tape to tape off the surfaces where there will be glue. Make sure you continue the color far enough into the joint so no bare wood will show - that little bit won't cause any issues re: insufficient adhesion surface. Then, just peel the tape off and go to town with the glue-up.

[Duane Bledsoe]

I thought it might be something like this. Is it just not common then, to build and then finish?? What I mean is, how does most of the crowd do it as compared to the few??

[Scott Holmes]

I do a mix of the two. Some projects I finish before assembly other projects after assembly. Just depends... When finishing cabinet/case work I prefer to have the backs off for finishing.

Most finishing jobs that I do are already assembled; sometimes already messed up by someone else trying to do the finishing.

[Rob Cunningham]

Depending on the job, I will sometimes finish everything before assembly. On other projects it's just not practical to pre-finish.
As Scott said, leave the back off cabinets for finishing.

[glenn bradley]

I mix the two as well. Any piece that is going to have difficult spots to get to gets at least some pre-finishng just as I do with most sanding.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Duane - I should note that I don't have spray equipment. If'n I did, I'd have given you a different answer...............

[Todd Burch]

I generally assemble then finish. It's easier. Yes, you have to remove your glue squeeze out (or glue fingerprints - depending on how messy you get).

Getting stain into a corner is easy as pie - drip it in. Life is too short to apply stain with a dry rag.

I've only done one project (out of hundreds, literally) where I prefinished (stained and sprayed lacquer) before assembling. It was a $40K study in cherry. Most projects don't warrant the major level of aggravation prefinishing imposes.

You left a lot of parameters out in your question - what you are finishing and how you are finishing. It all depends. When I am spraying, I refuse to spray into a 5 sided box, so, like Scott, I leave backs off when spraying. When I am brushing/rolling, it's nice to caulk the interior corners, so the piece must be fully assembled.

As for brushing, I prefer a sash brush, and again, a wet brush. Fill the corner with plenty of paint, and then tip-off in the 3 directions and you are done.

Todd

[David Keast]

Damned if you do, damned if you don't ! Finishing is always tricky, in my opinion there are good points and bad with both methods. I tend to sand/plane to finish standards before assembly, pre-finish any floating panels in frame and panel work, then put a bit of time and effort into avoiding glue squeeze out before final finishing when assembled.

Using a brush to get colour into inside corners, even when wiped carefully, tends to accentuate the corner. I think this is good, an old piece tends to accumulate dust, dirt and polish in inside corners and my method starts this process early ! It has to be said that I make mainly repro of 18th and 19th C furniture, the same effect would be less desirable on a modern piece.

[Jim Rimmer]

I usually finish then assemble for the reasons that have been mentioned. Right now I am building two A&C Bedside tables. The side panels have eight 3/4" square slats spaced 3/4" apart. I can't imagine how I would possibly stain and finish all 4 sides of these slats after assembly. I also like having all the parts horizontal when applying the finish.

[Jim Becker]

The answer for me is "yes"...I both pre-finish and post-finish, depending on the situation. Relative to the glue surface question, when I pre-finish, such as cabinet components since I hate spraying into a box, I actually take the time to mask off glue surface areas. It takes a little time, but the end result is worth it. Obviously, that wouldn't be practical in a production environment, but in a personal shop where a little extra time doesn't cost money, as it were, I have no regrets about using that method.