Ply wood type

[pip1954]

Hi I Have not used much ply wood before ,we are doing our bathroom up and want to build a wall to fit sink and toilet onto I will be using a frame to fix toilet to the put ply on the front as finish we intend to finish the ply with dark stain to resemble walnut colour but like I said I have not bought plywood so unsure what to order I think I need resin bonded but what finish should I used I don't want to spend a fortune but want something nice finish wise ,
Any help would be great
Pip

 

[custard]

we intend to finish the ply with dark stain to resemble walnut colour

Most grades of plywood have patches, areas where a defect was removed and replaced with a little rugby ball shaped plug. They're normally not too visible, but the moment you apply stain they'll stand out like a fish in a tree. The grade of birch ply you need is B/BB, you put the patched BB face to the reverse and use the unpatched B face as the show surface. You'll sometimes see S/BB ply, but S grade isn't guaranteed patch free, for that you need S+/BB which is very hard to find.

Another problem is that ply doesn't always take stain that well. The resin glue that's used to bond the plies can sometimes partially bleed through and result in visible patchiness where the stain takes unevenly. Most times you'll get away with it, but sometimes you won't.

When you apply stain you absolutely need to maintain a wet edge or you get streaking, on a large surface like a ply sheet you'll improve your chances with a water based rather than a spirit based stain.

Personally I'd drop the ply idea and use something like this,

https://www.slhardwoods.co.uk/products/ ... 0-x-1220mm

It'll be about 50% more expensive but it'll look 500% better.

Alternatively use paint not stain and then you can use cheaper BB/BB ply.

Good luck!

 

[pip1954]

Hi custard
Would that mdf be water proof or water resistant or could I get resin bonded ply with walnut veneer on it

 

[custard]

Hi custard
Would that mdf be water proof or water resistant or could I get resin bonded ply with walnut veneer on it

I specifically linked to moisture resistant MDF that's suitable for bathroom applications.