On 5/30/2014 4:11 PM, Greg Guarino wrote:
Another beginner question.

My exposure to solid lumber has so far been mostly for face frames and
I've just guessed at how much I should sand and with what grits. I'd
always get up as far as 220, usually using three different grits. But I
have often wondered if that was necessary. Maybe.

Caveat: I finish pieces out of necessity and desperation, not out of
love for the process; and I know, and hire, enough "expert finishers" to
quickly realize the fact I'm way below even the worst of them in my
finishing skills.

So the below is how I muddle through the process when forced to.

Obviously the success of my final finish is heavily dependent upon a
minimum of two main factors: preparation and application.

IME, the more attention I pay to the first, the better the results.

I generally start at 100 grit with any wood that may not have been
milled, planed, etc with the sharpest of tools and in a factory setting,
otherwise 120 grit.

On most woods, and particularly red oak, I run through 120, 150, 180
(and maybe not 180 grit, see last below) using a sander; making sure to
either vacuum, dust or blow off the pieces before going to the next grit.

(with a top of the line sander, like a Festool, and attached to a good
dust extractor, this last basically becomes an unnecessary step)

And, I most always do a final and light pass, by hand, with 220 to break
sharp edges, even if I previously stopped at 150 grit.

This last 220 pass is very light and more in the way of a "fondling" and
final, hands-on inspection of the piece by hand, the main idea being to
break sharp edges lightly, partly for imparting a finished "feel" to the
piece, and arguably to mitigate the tendency for some finishes to build
up along sharp edges during application.

I do apply a lot of "Sam Maloof" type, hand rubbed oil/poly finishes and
will often do a final last step with 240, or rarely, 320 grit when
applying this type of finish.

Keeping in mind the entire time that with stained pieces, and some
woods, if you go too high/fine with your grits you may reduce the
ability for your stain/finishes to penetrate, and thereby effect the
color, which may mean more than one application of stain ... this can
become a very dangerous circumstance when the color is everything to the
client, and the application is being done by the colorblind. DAMHIKT.

YMMV ...

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