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(10-16-2020, 01:37 PM)Charger68 Wrote: I will be building a built in pantry and need some advice. It will be a large (9' wide by 8' tall) wall unit that will be recessed into an existing wall. I will be using cherry hardwood for the face frames and door rails and stiles and cherry veneer plywood for the door faces. I am planning to build the boxes out of baltic birch plywood since only the inside of the boxes will ever bee seen (read: I am too cheap to buy cherry veneer ply for the boxes). My question is what to do about the inside of the boxes? Should I paint them or stain them? And what color, etc? If anyone has advice on what would look good I would appreciate it.
I had a similar situation with a Pantry cabinet in my kitchen. I opted for a yellow interior and have never regretted it. Bright inside is much better than looking into a cave.
Ron
![[Image: pantryinside.jpg]](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mu-wwfMcbRw/X4sf43XPq4I/AAAAAAAAC84/dTJuxIgH0rEVFe34SZmn92PdDF5Ab_U1wCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/pantryinside.jpg)
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Prefinished ply is certainly a good option.
Probably a minor point, but I like melamine for the inside of cabinets because of the brightness/easier to see what's in there.
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I made a set of cherry kitchen cabinets years ago: used 3/4" birch plywood from HD. I sprayed the interior of the cabinets with a waterbourne finish and it has held up well. I can give you specific finish suggestions if you are interested.
(10-16-2020, 01:37 PM)Charger68 Wrote: I will be building a built in pantry and need some advice. It will be a large (9' wide by 8' tall) wall unit that will be recessed into an existing wall. I will be using cherry hardwood for the face frames and door rails and stiles and cherry veneer plywood for the door faces. I am planning to build the boxes out of baltic birch plywood since only the inside of the boxes will ever bee seen (read: I am too cheap to buy cherry veneer ply for the boxes). My question is what to do about the inside of the boxes? Should I paint them or stain them? And what color, etc? If anyone has advice on what would look good I would appreciate it.
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I worked at a cabinet shop for two years and we never used anything other than birch/maple plywood for boxes and always sprayed them with clear. I would say it's the cheapest route. In no instance would I consider staining. As a previous reply stated, "it stains horribly".
Yes, prefinished ply or melamine would be good options, but as the OP has declared his 'cheapness'. Just throwing on a good coat of poly or lacquer will be pretty cheap and relatively easy.
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Thanks for all the different options given here. What I ended up buying was pre-finished maple ply. I really like the light look of maple so when several here recommended it it made sense to me. I drove about an hour away to pick up all the plywood needed for this project. This included 9 sheets of the 3/4 pre-finished maple, 3 sheets of 1/4 pre-finished maple (for the backs) and 2 sheets of 3/8 cherry ply for the door panels. I had already purchased quite a bit of quarter sawn cherry for the face frame, door frames and moldings. So at this point I am all set for a project to carry me well into winter. If only I didn't have to work for a living I could get it done sooner!
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Keep us posted. It will bring back a lot of memories. When I built ours I had to make one or two cabinets at a time because of space limitations. I did try to do "chunks" of cabinets at a time, by doing so I used less wood for the boxes, and a lot of the face frames on the uprights don't have seams I also added the "kick panels" when done using long walnut pieces. I also made a few kick panel drawers that really are useful.
Good luck
