Plywood

[Chuckie]

Hello all. I am trying to begin building a modified cub off road teardrop kinda like Socal and Adventure Trailers teardrop. I am lengthening the design by 1' in length and height by 6 or 12". I found 5'x10 marine plywood here locally since I want to make my sides out of one piece. The plywood is fir. Does anyone know if it is easy to finish? Will it go with birch plywood for the galley and cabinets? Or should I get fir to do everything.

[parnold]

Personally I like mixing different types of wood for different shades. Opinions may vary.

[wannabefree]

Easy to finish? You need to define finish. Fir takes paint well, stains blotchy and dyes OK. varnish, shellac, and lacquer all adhere well but look bad (IMO).

I suggest you decide on the finish you want and ask again. Then, decide on the best answer and test the finish. Here's how to test it:

Take several squares of plywood and apply the finish. Let it dry a week. Leave a square out in the lawn for a few weeks where the sprinklers are sure to hit it. Throw gravel at another for a few hours. And stick duct tape to a third and rip it off a few times. Then decide if you like the finish. Repeat as needed.

IMO - many people ruin a great project with the wrong finish. Don't be one of them.

Stepping down from soapbox now. Have a great build.

[Chuckie]

I am going to cover the outside in aluminum so not worried about outside. I would like finish it in something clear. I could always luan over the inside and use birch for the cabinets and everything would look good. I pulled up some pictures today of fir cabinets and they looked pretty good. I can go ahead and cut out my design and use the scrap to do what you suggest. I really want to use a single piece of plywood on each side so if fir is the only thing I can find I will have to make do. I have a large Avion camper that has all cherry cabinets in it and redid them with tung oil. I will probably do the same thing on my teardrop. I really love the way they came out. Hand rubbing the whole thing did alot for it.