Soak 'er down in tung oil in multiple coats, then sand away?
Or reapply the tung after each sanding?
One more question, and a big one... for curly maple, how fine do you sand?
And how many coats of RenWax and how do you buff in between?
Finish sand first. I go to 400 grit always (600 on occasion). Then apply oil it should not raise the grain where it would need anymore sanding :no:, I have never experienced that. In fact I would be afraid it would make the finish less clear sanding the oil into the wood (as some would advise) if for
some reason you did have to sand let it set for 24 hours first.
I put 3 or 4 liberal coats of oil, like dripping rag wet...let them set 30-45 minutes between coats. The first couple coats will go right into the wood. The next couple you will notice it pooling in places, rub it around with the saturated cloth.
Let it set overnight and
maybe give it one more shot with the oil if the mood strikes you, I do .
You should let the oil cure for a couple days before waxing. I am not sure cure is the right word, but that is the one I am using.
The number of coats of wax is up to you, it does not really build up a finish like a varnish (the reason for fine sanding, you are finishing the wood not finishing the finish) but with more coats you can buff it to a little better gloss.
One tip, after a few coats of wax that I hand rub on and off I go to power tools. Like a buffer. Or you could like I do (on the cheap) if you have a hook and loop random orbit sander, take a piece of terrycloth or other super soft rag stuck on the sander and use that to finish buff.
