- Prepare the wood surface
- Clean the wood surface
- "Level out" the first coat of top coats
- Promote good bond between coats on some type of finishes
Polishing
- Final step in finishing using coated abrasives
- 150 grit or finer
- In woodworking, polishing is the final sanding of bare wood prior to staining or finish
Intermediate Sanding
- Grit ranges from 50 to 120 grit
- Stock removal is of medium quantity
- Rule of thumb – Skip only one grit at a time
Rough Stock Removal
- Woodworking requires dimensioning of lumber or glued panels to proper thickness
- Grits 24, 36 and 40
Sanding of Penetrating Oils & Finishes
- Bare wood should be sanded to at least 180 or 220 grit
- Sanding beyond 220 will tend to burnish the wood surface
- Pores will close and "slicken" the surface
- Oil or stain penetration will decrease
- Common to use 400, 600, 800, 1200 grit wet-or-dry Silicon Carbide sheets to "sand in" the oil or stain
- Drives the stain or oil into pores of the wood and smoothes the wood surface as grain is raised
- Grain raising is very common with water-based stains
Tips for Sanding Putty & Filler
- Excess residue of fillers should be sanded with steel wool or a non-woven abrasive pad
- After filler is fully dry, scuff sand with 220 grit Stearated sandpaper
- On closed-grain woods, sand with 320 Stearate to reduce likelihood of cutting through the filler into bare wood
- Putty should be sanded with 180 to 320 grit Stearated paper
