How Do I Paint Plywood?

Plywood is a panel-shaped wood-based material made from several thin layers of wood (the plies or wood veneers) that are glued crosswise (90 ° angle to each other) along the grain. This normalizes material properties such as shrinkage and swelling behavior.

Plywood, just like any other wood, requires preparation before painting. The quality of the preparation determines the finished quality of the painted surface. If you start with furniture or marine grade plywood, the preparation is easy -- those types of plywood are very smooth. Less expensive plywood for use as flooring, roofing or sheathing materials on a house probably won't turn out as well since it has a rough surface that will show through the paint.

Preparation

Sand the plywood until it is smooth using your sanding block or a handheld oscillating tool with a sanding accessory. Start with 80-grit sandpaper on a rough surface to begin the process and move to the progressively finer grits of 120 and 220. On marine or furniture grade plywood, begin with 120 grit since they are already quite smooth.

Wipe the plywood clean with the dry rag to remove most of the dust created by sanding. Don't dampen the rag; the water will raise the grain and you'll have to sand again. Wipe it a second time with the tack cloth to remove the finer dust that remains.

Once the surfaces are prepared, it’s time to apply the first coat of primer.

Interior Priming Options