Paint/stain or assemble first?

[javeryh]

I just finished cutting the pieces for my can (cocktail) and I'm wondering if I should assemble it and then stain/paint it or if I should do the pieces individually.  I am going to put a couple of coats of polyurethane on it when it is done to give it a very smooth furniture-like appearance.  Any suggestions?  I'm leaning towards assembling it first because that's the way you do it when you build a piece of furniture...

[Flinkly]

well here are the pros and cons.

if you did it apart, you wouldn't have space problems whem trying to do all that, so you wouldn't have to learn brush kung foo, but you would also have to pay attention to your brush strokes, since you'd want to keep them all in the same direction, less you make one side look funny.

if you did it together, well...i can't think of an obvious pro, but for a con, you'd have to be real careful around the sides you'd already done, or even the ones you hadn't started, so that you wouldn't unwittingly drip or splatter and make a funny spot.

also, will you have screws or nails showing after it is assembles, because that is the main reason you do furniture when it is assembles, so that you can fill in the holes and stain them too.

as for me, if i was brushing it on, i'd do it before assembly, and if i was spraying it on with a HVLP, i'd do it afterwards, cause i'd be worried about drips coming down from the control panel parts.  also, if you do it before, you might still need to touch it up afterwards due to scratches during assembly.  good luck.

[CheffoJeffo]

Would also depend on means of assembly ... I wouldn't try to use glue over stain or paint, for example.

Cheers,

JAKD

[javeryh]

Thanks!  I think I'm going to assemble first.  I won't have to fill any holes but I will be using glue during assembly.  Plus I've made quite a few dados and they are pretty tight so I'd hate for a layer of paint/stain to get in there and then not be able to put it together...

[Flinkly]

as for glue, don't get any on the cabinet while your constructing, and if you do, wipe it up really well a couple times over.  if you don't, your stain wont cover evenly and it will look horrible.  you probably already know that though since you talk of dadoing and doing other cabinets.  good luck though.

[javeryh]

Thanks for the advice.  This is really the first thing I've ever built myself - I just watch a lot of New Yankee Workshop...    I've been dying to build something and this project is perfect!

[elvis]

I always assemble first, for two reasons:

1) Paint (especially thick plastic-based paints) add 1-2mm to your cabinet.  Sometimes that's enough to make a peice that used to fit not fit any more.

2) My carpentry is far from professional.  As such, I need lots of putty to fix up the dodgey bits.  Likewise, I like to countersink all my screws, and putty over, then give it one good quality undercoat, and two to three thin final coats.

Remember more thin final coats look heaps better than fewer thick ones, as paint tends to drip and clump if it's put on too thick.

[javeryh]

Thanks for the tips...  I'm planning on putting on a ton of thin coats and sanding in between each one.  I'm probably going to use a colored stain for the base (I'm leaning towards dark blue) and black paint for the top to lay the artwork on.  I'm going to cover the entire piece in several coats of polyurethane to give it a nice smooth finish...  I hope it comes out nice or there's no shot of the wife allowing it in the TV room!