Sanding first Fancy Veneer project
 

Wreck:

I'm about to start assembling my first project of expensive veneer
plywood, which happens to be SWMBO's Christmas present. I don't skydive
so I have to get my thrills somehow.

Anyway, what about sanding?

Everything I've built so far has either been inexpensive Borg veneer or
wood at least a dozen sanding mistakes thick. At roughtly 4x the
price/sheet, plus time to reorder, I'm nervous.

I've been careful and managed to avoid any expensive mistakes *knocks
wood* How do I sand this stuff?

I plan to hand sand. Start at 120 or 150? 180? Sand to 220? Don't
sand at all?

Thanks


Charles

You have to be very careful when sanding veneer with any type of power tool.
Usually the veneer is only a 32nd thick so you can go through it very
easily. When sanding, you are removing the scratches that were made by the
previous grit of sandpaper. I would sand by hand, start with 100 or 110
and go to 150. You may want to go to 180 but not 220. This will just start
to polish the surface and will make finishing more difficult.
Use a padded sanding block when you sand, with a cork bottom or a folded
paper towel even between the block and the sandpaper.

On Thu, 02 Dec 2004 17:10:03 GMT, "U-CDK_CHARLES\\Charles" "Charles
wrote:

Wreck:

I'm about to start assembling my first project of expensive veneer
plywood, which happens to be SWMBO's Christmas present. I don't skydive
so I have to get my thrills somehow.

Anyway, what about sanding?

Everything I've built so far has either been inexpensive Borg veneer or
wood at least a dozen sanding mistakes thick. At roughtly 4x the
price/sheet, plus time to reorder, I'm nervous.

I've been careful and managed to avoid any expensive mistakes *knocks
wood* How do I sand this stuff?

gently.



I plan to hand sand. Start at 120 or 150? 180? Sand to 220? Don't
sand at all?

start with a grit finer than you think you need. if that doesn't get
it, drop back to the coarser grit for just as little as you can to get
it sanded.



Thanks


Charles

On Thu, 2 Dec 2004 12:28:16 -0500, "PME"
wrote:

You have to be very careful when sanding veneer with any type of power tool.
Usually the veneer is only a 32nd thick so you can go through it very
easily. When sanding, you are removing the scratches that were made by the
previous grit of sandpaper. I would sand by hand, start with 100 or 110
and go to 150. You may want to go to 180 but not 220. This will just start
to polish the surface and will make finishing more difficult.
Use a padded sanding block when you sand, with a cork bottom or a folded
paper towel even between the block and the sandpaper.



fancy veneer ply is usually sanded at the factory, so you can start
pretty fine. the coarsest I'll usually go on it is 120, and not too
much of that.

the exception to the rule about not sanding too fine is wet sanding
with oil. then you can go as fine as you want. sanding to 600 grit
with watco leaves a gorgeous surface.

wrote in message
...
On Thu, 2 Dec 2004 12:28:16 -0500, "PME"
wrote:

You have to be very careful when sanding veneer with any type of power
tool.
Usually the veneer is only a 32nd thick so you can go through it very
easily. When sanding, you are removing the scratches that were made by the
previous grit of sandpaper. I would sand by hand, start with 100 or 110
and go to 150. You may want to go to 180 but not 220. This will just
start
to polish the surface and will make finishing more difficult.
Use a padded sanding block when you sand, with a cork bottom or a folded
paper towel even between the block and the sandpaper.



fancy veneer ply is usually sanded at the factory, so you can start
pretty fine. the coarsest I'll usually go on it is 120, and not too
much of that.

the exception to the rule about not sanding too fine is wet sanding
with oil. then you can go as fine as you want. sanding to 600 grit
with watco leaves a gorgeous surface

I would do this on the lacquer top coat for to get nice consistent scratches
on the sruface to increase sheen, but not on the wood surface itself. If
you spray anything on a surface sanded this fine, the finish will simply
bead off. It will not adhere.

the exception to the rule about not sanding too fine is wet sanding
with oil. then you can go as fine as you want. sanding to 600 grit
with watco leaves a gorgeous surface

I would do this on the lacquer top coat for to get nice consistent
scratches on the sruface to increase sheen, but not on the wood surface
itself. If you spray anything on a surface sanded this fine, the finish
will simply bead off. It will not adhere.

Unlikely. Many finishes incorporate wetting agents or are otherwise
formulated to deal with surface tension issues. I've sprayed shellac,
lacquer, varnish, oil-based poly and water-based urethanes on surfaces
sanded to 600 grit without any application problems or long-term adhesion
problems.