[joasis]

When you guys sand a piece, do you have a rule of thumb about how fine of a grit are you working up to? Does it depend on hardwoods or softwoods? Anyone here use 600 wet and dry sandpaper? I am curious about what most of you do, since finishing is not my high point.

 

[MinConst]

When I worked with Laq, I would stop at 100 grit to leave a bit of gruffness to bit into. If the wood it too smooth I find the finish will not absorb as well. Urethane on the other hand will absorb better as it stays wet longer. Wet dry before the last coat. Just clean off the film between coats. The final finish will depend on how well the first coat adheres and how dust free you can keep it. Just my way. And done mostly on furniture.

 

[Big Dave]

I typically sand all of my stuff to 120 an stop there. This will leave no sanding marks and will be smooth enough to touch and rough enough for the finish to have good adhesion. Going any finer and you close off the grain of the wood too much, not allowing for good stain penetration and finish adhesion.

 

[joasis]

That is what I think Dave.... and I had fun with the sanding sealer...it promised not to gum up paper, but did. Now my blind buddy Bill, has sanded his chest glass smooth with 600 W&D, and I need to get over and help him finish it...so should I sand it with 100 to rough it up? Or poly it like it is, since it is his work?

 

[Big Dave]

That is what I think Dave.... and I had fun with the sanding sealer...it promised not to gum up paper, but did. Now my blind buddy Bill, has sanded his chest glass smooth with 600 W&D, and I need to get over and help him finish it...so should I sand it with 100 to rough it up? Or poly it like it is, since it is his work?

When going over sealer the new coat of laquer will melt into the sealer a bit and give you better adhesion. I believe that its when you put the sealer on the bare or stained wood you need a little better bite.

I think I would advise him that the next coat may not adhere and see what he wants to do. Let him make the call. I think if it were mine I would go ahead and spray it.

 

[eastend]

if you're sanding raw wood, too high a grit is actually like polishing the wood, closes up its surface and makes it harder for stain to penetrate, and offers less of a mechanical bond for finishes.
I generally like to go to 120 to 150# on raw wood, and it depends on the wood. Maple will close up fast (at a lower grit) whereas a soft wood like fir can go higher.
Once the wood is sealed, and finishes are applied, you can then sand to higher and higher grits like 180 to 220 to 280 to 320, and so forth.Grits above 600#usually are reserved for the last coats, and final "rubout" sanding may go upwards of 2,000# grit, although that's usually just for highly polished surfaces.

 

[joasis]

This is eastern red cedar, and we didn't put a sanding sealer on his...it is like touching glass....and since he is totally blind, he is doing this by feel....I wonder since it is so smooth, maybe a varnish may be better?

 

[jpw23]

On most wood, I go to 200 grit...after that I use 1000/2000 wet/dry grit between coats of laquer(sp) then I use steel wool in varying grades. Now these are guitars.....not furiture

 

[Plowboy]

if you're sanding raw wood, too high a grit is actually like polishing the wood, closes up its surface and makes it harder for stain to penetrate, and offers less of a mechanical bond for finishes.
I generally like to go to 120 to 150# on raw wood, and it depends on the wood. Maple will close up fast (at a lower grit) whereas a soft wood like fir can go higher.
Once the wood is sealed, and finishes are applied, you can then sand to higher and higher grits like 180 to 220 to 280 to 320, and so forth.Grits above 600#usually are reserved for the last coats, and final "rubout" sanding may go upwards of 2,000# grit, although that's usually just for highly polished surfaces.

Ditto to all of this. I have 120 on my drum sander. Then I switch to 80 on the orbital to remove the lines from the drum sander then move to 120 to finish. Started with 80 in the drum sander, but took too much sanding with the orbital to remove the lines. 120 on the drum leaves very light lines.

Left the steel wool behind after I moved to water based poly. Now I'm using 320 and 1600 grit on a 3" pnuematic orbital.

 

[formula462]

Good Info As I Too Am Learning The Finishing Aspect Of Woodworking

 

[Plowboy]

Anyone ever use water on the surface of the wood and let it dry to raise the grain before sanding? I used to do this when I had the 80 grit on my drum. Made it easier to get rid of the lines.