Closet Island Progress (Plus, I Found Baskets!)

Let me again up a bit. A few days in the past, I shared my design for every of the drawer/door sections. That design appears to be like like this, the place I trimmed out every part as a complete relatively than trimming out every drawer entrance and cupboard door individually…

So yesterday, I needed to end up with including the iron-on veneer edge banding on a few of the drawer fronts and the 2 doorways. Including the sting banding to the sides that had the 1/4-inch trim was fairly easy, however including the sting banding to the sides that didn’t have the 1/4-inch trim was slightly trickier. Right here’s what it seemed like after I ironed it on, and you may see that it required a bit extra cautious trimming than the easy straight cuts required on the sides that had the 1/4-inch trim. Word that this drawer entrance is sitting on high of a scrap piece of 1/2-inch plywood that I used as my work floor.

After the sting banding was ironed on, I stood it up on the sting to trim off that extra piece protruding on the facet. I used a really sharp, new blade in my utility knife to do the entire trimming.

As soon as that was minimize off, I laid it again down and trimmed off the surplus from the entrance edge. Right here’s what it seemed like after it was trimmed. You possibly can see that the surplus is gone, however it’s nonetheless not very fairly.

I present you that to make a degree that sanding wooden veneer edge banding is a crucial step in making it look good. Don’t skip this step! Sanding the sting banding to make it mix in with the plywood is what provides it that completed, strong wooden look. I used 100-grit sandpaper for this, and sanded all of it by hand. This isn’t one thing you’d wish to use a sander for as a result of you may simply take away an excessive amount of veneer, or sand an excessive amount of off of the nook with a sander. Sanding by hand provides you far more management. Right here’s what it seemed like as soon as it was sanded.

As soon as I bought all of them sanded, I used to be prepared for primer. I used my new favourite primer — Zinsser Bin Shellac-Based mostly Primer. I ought to have taken the image earlier than I poured it and made a large number, however I forgot. 😀

I like this primer, and it’s now the one one I’ll use after I’m portray uncooked, unfinished wooden. It’s the identical primer I used on the wooden flooring within the studio earlier than I painted it, and that flooring has held up amazingly properly, even with a hyper 100-pound canine who likes to play in there — the identical canine who gained’t let me contact his ft to chop his claws.

It’s additionally the identical primer I used on the porch ceiling that used to appear to be this…

After which two years in the past, I primed it with the shellac-based primer and repainted it, and as of this morning, two years later, there’s nonetheless not a single knot bleeding by. (There may be, nonetheless, some trim that must be cleaned. 😀 )

Anyway, like I mentioned, it’s now the one primer I’ll use on uncooked, unfinished wooden that I wish to paint. The one drawback with the shellac-based primer is that I don’t like placing it into my paint sprayer as a result of it required chemical substances to scrub. So I apply it with a brush and/or a curler. For my closet island drawer fronts and doorways, I used these 4-inch rollers for easy surfaces.

I typically use the 6-inch rollers if I can, however since these drawer fronts are sort of small, I went with the 4-inch rollers as an alternative.

I bought all of them primed, after which all of them wanted to be sanded earlier than they are often painted. The primer dries in a short time (inside an hour), after which I sanded them by hand utilizing 220-grit sandpaper for an excellent easy end. Right here’s one of many sections primed, sanded, and prepared for paint.

I wish to stress that primer doesn’t must look fairly to be efficient. I by no means do multiple coat of primer. There’s completely no want for the primer to be strong white. So long as each space is roofed, and it feels easy as soon as it’s sanded with the 220-grit sandpaper, the primer will do its job and the paint (so long as you’re utilizing a superb high quality paint) will cowl superbly.

In different information, I bought baskets!! I didn’t discover these myself. Somebody discovered them and left a touch upon my final submit about needing to seek out baskets (or make one thing) for these cabinets. However as soon as I noticed these, I knew I needed to snatch them up instantly. They’re good!

The bummer is that I ordered ten, and I solely bought 9. And I bought these 9 in three completely different shipments over the course of two weeks.

I did get a tenth merchandise, however they despatched me this as an alternative. In a separate cargo. All by itself. Yeah, I don’t suppose this may work. 🤣

So I have to get that straightened out and get my tenth basket, however I feel these will work completely!

Earlier than I noticed these baskets, I had deliberate on constructing my very own bins, and I bought these label holders for them.

I’m nonetheless going to make use of them, however they get slightly bit misplaced on their very own as soon as they’re towards the hampers.

So I’m going to chop slightly piece of 1/4-inch wooden to make use of as a backplate for the label holders. I’ll paint them darkish blue to match the darkish blue trim on the hampers.