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(05-03-2018, 07:10 AM)angelosart Wrote: I am working with pre-finished plywood for the first time. A friend of mine had some left over from a project he finished. The plywood has some light scratches on it. They don’t go through to the plywood itself.
What can I do? I’m trying to find out what kind of finish is on it to begin with but my friend isn’t sure himself. Should I scuff the whole thing and re-apply a spray coat?
Thanks
Angelo
Maybe (this is a guess only) treat it like French polish and rub in some shellac. The shellac should adhere to the finish and fill the scratches. Try a sample first. I doubt that the shellac will soften a modern finish. But try a section near the edge first.
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That finish is a commercial UV cured coating, you'd have a hard time repairing it in any way. I have been able to paint some by scuffing it, a coat of shellac, then the paint...and it seemed to adhere fairly well. Columbia Forest Products describes their finish as an "acrylate" formula (some form of acrylic) and go on to suggest that the finish can be cleaned with acetone. So it's tough, solvent resistant stuff. Bear in mind that may vary some by manufacturer.
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That's one reason I don't use pre-finished plywood. I think your best option is to try to buff out the scratches using auto body products. I've used a product called Triple Cut that works really well for light scratches. It will leave a gloss sheen. If your plywood is something other than gloss you'll need a different product. If so, look at Maguire's or one of the other polish companies' products.
John
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I just rub on some lacquer or poly. Which ever I have handy. It will not fill the scratch but hides it pretty well. You can repair deep scratches by building up the scratch and sanding it smooth then respray the whole surface - tedious but does work. I would not put a finish over it w/o lightly sanding.
If you want you can sand the finish and then respray with lacquer or use poly. I use pre-finish a lot.
John
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