Tried pre-finished plywood for a whole kitchen and it backfired hard

I decided to use pre-finished maple plywood for a set of 12 cabinet doors and drawer fronts in my own kitchen remodel. Saved some time on sanding and finishing, or so I thought. Problem was the edges didn't match the face at all after I cut them. Even with edge banding the color was off by a shade and it looked cheap. I ended up having to strip and refinish three doors because the glue from the banding bled through and the finish wouldn't stick right. Took me almost 8 hours extra to fix it. Now I just stick raw plywood and do all the finishing myself. Anyone else have trouble with pre-finished stuff?

2 comments

2 Comments

milaprice16d ago

Had a buddy who tried using contact cement on pre-finished ply and the whole door delaminated in the summer heat. Made me glad I just stick to paint-grade MDF for anything with a finish I care about.

masonbell16d ago

Did @milaprice try sealing the edges first?