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Stesso

Prepare for Finishing (Putty, Caulk, Sand)

11:12
17:09
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At 11:12 in

DIY Built-in Closet Organizer

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What happens here

Once all shelving units are installed, use wood putty (like DAP Plastic Wood) to fill all visible screw holes and imperfections. Allow the putty to dry completely according to manufacturer instructions. Apply paintable caulk along all seams where wood meets wood and where the units meet the drywall to create a seamless, built-in look. Once the caulk is dry, thoroughly sand all surfaces, starting with a medium-grit sandpaper (e.g., 120-grit) to smooth the putty and transition areas, and finishing with a fine-grit sandpaper (e.g., 220-grit) to ensure a smooth surface for painting. Wear appropriate PPE, including a respirator and hearing protection, during sanding.

Goal: Fill in screw holes, caulk seams, and sand all surfaces to prepare the shelving units for priming and painting.

Tools and materials

  • Caulk Gun
  • Hearing Protection
  • Orbital Sander
  • Paintable Caulk
  • Putty Knife
  • Respirator
  • Sandpaper (120-grit and 220-grit)
  • Wood Putty (DAP Plastic Wood)

What they say

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All right. So, everything's assembled and put together. Now, before we start building the actual drawers for this, we need to finish everything off. I'm going to use this product from DAP. It's the plaster basically for the walls, kind of like a drywall. Fix up all the stuff that was left from the previous shelf. Then I'm going to use one of my favorite actual stains from Minwax. The reason I like this stuff is because when it dries, [music] it's not as brittle as some of the other stuff. And lastly, when everything's finished and done, I'm put some uh paintable coaul all the way around. So [music] when we paint it, it's going to look like one built-in unit without any kind of imperfection. So let's get to putting this stuff on.

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