I finally see why my old boss insisted on pre-finishing drawer boxes before assembly

Had a plumbing leak last week in a kitchen I built 2 years ago, and the pre-finished boxes held up while the plywood edges on the ones I didn't do that way swelled right up - has anyone else had a repair like that change how they build?

3 comments

3 Comments

faith_thomas16d agoTop Commenter

That one repair made me switch all my drawers to pre-finished too.

jana_hart1816d ago

Exactly what you said about "factory finish usually has way more coats than you'd ever put on by hand" - that's the part people don't think about until they try to do it themselves and realize it's just never going to match. I learned that lesson after spending a whole weekend brushing coats on some maple fronts and they still looked blotchy compared to the pre-finished ones I ordered later. And you're right @faith_thomas about the abuse thing, my kitchen drawers get slammed shut by my kids constantly and the pre-finished stuff doesn't chip or scratch like the unfinished stuff did after one rough use. Plus the time savings alone is worth it when you're not having to sand and seal and wait for everything to dry between coats. I literally tell everyone starting cabinet work the same thing now - just buy them pre-finished and skip the misery.

faith_thomas16d agoTop Commenter

Picking unfinished drawers was the worst for me. One little water ring from a glass and it's game over, you're refinishing the whole thing. Pre-finished takes so much abuse and you just wipe it clean. Plus the factory finish usually has way more coats than you'd ever put on by hand. I tell everyone building cabinets now to just save the headache and go pre-finished from the start.