Best plywood for paint?

[paperfist]

Not sure what I'm doing wrong but all of the plywood that I've painted shows the grain. The last one I used to build a desk out of I had put like 5 coats of Behr on it and still the grain showed. It was primed as well.

I'm looking to build a fish tank stand now and I want to paint it glossy white or black and don't want the grain to show.

 

[Greenman]

Use a solvent based "high build" primer and sand it after it dries. The water in latex primer raises the grain of soft wood.
The best plywood for paint will be a hardwood plywood.

 

[paperfist]

Use a solvent based "high build" primer and sand it after it dries. The water in latex primer raises the grain of soft wood.
The best plywood for paint will be a hardwood plywood.

Thanks!

You mean cabinet grade? I forgot which type I used think it was BC sanded on one side .

 

[Humpy]

MDO has a plywood core that is faced with a smooth resin and paper veneer. Pretty easy to get super smooth paint on it, especially spraying. It's exterior grade so it's okay getting a little wet if you protect the edges.

Maple veneer plywood with a good core paints well. I like Zinsser BIN primer, it's not really high build but its dries hard and sands smooth. Might need a few coats.

Any plywood would work though if you wanted to spend the time filling the grain.

Hopefully you're somewhere with a legit supplier that can provide options.

 

[Greenman]

Thanks!

You mean cabinet grade? I forgot which type I used think it was BC sanded on one side .

Anything other than fir should work, except oak, it tends to have an open grain. The stuff Humpy mentioned sounds like a hit, though I'm not familiar with the material.

 

[mindless1]

I never had a problem sanding it down first then using oil based paint. However, build a desk? If plywood worked best for everything, that's the wood everyone would use for everything...

 

[paperfist]

MDO has a plywood core that is faced with a smooth resin and paper veneer. Pretty easy to get super smooth paint on it, especially spraying. It's exterior grade so it's okay getting a little wet if you protect the edges.

Maple veneer plywood with a good core paints well. I like Zinsser BIN primer, it's not really high build but its dries hard and sands smooth. Might need a few coats.

Any plywood would work though if you wanted to spend the time filling the grain.

Hopefully you're somewhere with a legit supplier that can provide options.

hmm I never heard of MDO either, I'll have to look that up. Thanks!

EDIT: This stuff? https://www.lowes.com/pd/Medium-Den...r-MDO-Plywood-Application-as-4-x-8/1000049011

Kind of pricey along the lines of cabinet grade, but since it's exterior grade it would be perfect for my application for a fish tank.

I never had a problem sanding it down first then using oil based paint. However, build a desk? If plywood worked best for everything, that's the wood everyone would use for everything...

Maybe that was my problem I didn't sand it because it already was from the factory.

What's wrong with a desk? It had a nice curved main deck that you could roll your chair up into. Tons of shelves and most of the flat surfaces were covered in formica anyway.

 

[Muse]

I built a ton of shelving for my computer room, used no plywood at all. It's all solid pine and I finished it with shellac, all sides. It's gorgeous.

Here's the skinny on how I finished it from my data (I did all this before assembling. This was back in 2003.):

When I did my bookshelves I basically did this:
1. Sanded and dusted the wood nicely.
2. Applied a 1/2# cut shellac coat to semi-seal it so boiled linseed oil would penetrate sufficiently but not enough to blotch.
3. Wiped on boiled linseed oil, wiped off after 5-10 minutes. Wiped off well with old socks on my hands.
4. Let dry several days, longer if the weather wasn't so good.
5. Apply two coats full strength (3# cut?) orange shellac.
6. Applied two coats of furniture wax with 00 steel wool and buffed.

 

[herm0016]

The Baltic Birch and maple ply at home centers will paint well. MDO will be the best.
Did you buy SANDE or sanded plywood? sande is a type of light weight soft wood.