Hi Corey,

Well, maybe I'm too late.

My background; Did my first install and
countertop in 1969. My first full kitchen and install during the Watergate
trials.
In the late '70's, Alan Park, then the president of Rudd paint put on his
overalls
and came into the finish booth with us
for some advanced instruction. Been a
Firefighter for many years but I have
recently gone back to working in the
cabinet shops. Have built most of the
fine furniture in our home along with
several guitars. I am currently spending
many of my days off in the spray booth
in a cabinet shop.

That's the background, here's the
recommendation.

Tack cloths leave more than they pick up.

You didn't mention the type of finish but
here are a few guidelines.

Use a high quality sandpaper. The new
foil backed gold papers are very expensive
but have a long life and are worth the
price. Sand to 120# when staining, 400#
to 600# when dyeing, but don't use carbide
paper as the rounder particles will burnish
rather than abrade. After applying the dye
resand to 240# for surface finishes.
Sand to at least 240# for Walnut. All
veneered panels should be block sanded
only, never with a power sander.
Don't use oil based stains under surface
finishes. Change your sandpaper very often...it's easy to polish and burnish
and the staining will be blotchy.

Been planning on a finishing video but not
a lot of time to do that. Even the pro's
do some occasional stupid things when
prepping to finish, and the video would
help out in the shop I'm in.

Might be of more help if I knew the wood, stain, dye, and type of finish.

Hope this helped.
-Rick