Finishing Before Assembly

[Jerry Solomon]

I've seen mentions of the idea of finishing (or partially finishing) parts of a woodworking project before they are assembled. I guess the idea is it may be easier to apply stain and clear finishes to the loose parts. Also, any glue that might stain raw wood probably wouldn't stain finished areas. Does anybody really use this approach?

[Jim Becker]

Yes, I did exactly than with my kitchen cabinets. I wanted to finish the interiors with clear lacquer prior to assembly and the color on the outside where applicable in the same manner...it's easier spraying on flat surfaces that are not encumbered by other flat surfaces! I masked off the dados and rabbits with blue painter's tape and sprayed them down. The masking took a little bit of time, but I really got a nice finish on the inside. The pic below shows "drying" time in progress...and no, they were not sprayed on top of the table saw!!

[Todd Burch]

I too occasionally finish prior to assembly. The study I'm working on now gets a sprayed toner, and the toner does not like inside corners!

The "trick" (if you can call it one - probably more like "finesse") is to not screw up the assembly. I will place my glue specifically so that it will not squeeze out on the finish and I will mark nailing lines ahead of time so I don't have a blow-out with a misplaced nail.

Whether I finish prior to assembly or not, I always sand the interior sides prior to assembly.

Todd.

[Jerry Solomon]

Thanks for the replies. I'm working on a small project now and I think I'll give it a ty.