[walleye vision]

So I've built a farmhouse kitchen table that I've distressed. It's all been sanded with 100grit and feels smooth to me. My question is: is it really necessary to sand all the way to 220 grit if the whole thing is going to be covered in poly anyway?

If it means anything, it is douglas fir and I'll be using rustoleum stain and poly.

 

[Steve Neul]

The reason you thoroughly sand the wood is so the stain will stain more uniform and it takes less finish to achieve an emulsion. Also if you used an electric sander with 100x paper it will show swirl marks when you apply the stain. Try it on a piece of scrap wood and see for yourself. If you get swirl marks on your project stained it's hard to get rid of. It's just the size of the grit on the paper that makes scratches in the wood. When you sand with finer paper the grit is smaller so the swirl marks don't show up. If you think about it you end up sanding just as much either way. If you start finishing after 100x paper it will take more coats of finish and more sanding between coats to build an emulsion and get it smooth. Since the wood is rougher it absorbs more of finish.

 

[gideon]

i dont use a random orbit sander under 120 grit - you'll get swirlies and it will take forever to get them out. so i hand sand at 80, ros at 120 and 180. i stop at 180 grit and i get very good results.

in some cases, i'm able to use hand planes with extremely minimal sanding. seems when i use my planes i approach 220/320 or higher.

in finishing, i go 220 between coats, 320 on the final and then steel wool.

 

[Ken Johnson]

On most of my big projects I go to 220 grit because I still see sanding marks at anything lower than that. One recommendation I will make is to buy 3M Sandblaster sandpaper. It is really worth the money. My Dad used to buy the cheap stuff at Harbor Freight or wherever but this stuff doesn't clog up like the cheap stuff and really removes material fast. I actually enjoy sanding with this stuff because you can see the results.

 

[cabinetman]

I get good results using an open coat silicon carbide sandpaper (for dry use) called either "Fre-Cut", or "No-Fil". It's light gray in color. It's available in sheets or round for ROS's.

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[snookfish]

Two words, card scraper! After that you might not need to sand anything. Best $12 I ever spent.