Sanding Marks

[deepsplinter]

I've made more raised panel doors than I can count, but I've never had the problems I'm having now.

I've sanded all of the panels, and now I'm staining the cove part of 'em before I assemble them, but there's some ugly swirl marks on the end grain.

I've always sanded my end grain coves with 100grit, 120grit, then 150 and have never had swirl marks like these.

I'm using a random orbit sander that has the soft/spongy pad on it.

FWIW, it's ash wood and some dark Zar stain that's thick as molasses.

How do you guys/gals sand your raised panels?

[Stretch]

I sand em the same way you do, but I go 80, 120, 180.

[sachbvn]

I would be fibbing if I said I didn't use my ROS when I sanded my raised panels.

Should I? I don't know - you could quickly sand one too much or get crazy with the ROS and round something over.....

Honestly - if you are getting swirl marks..... is there any chance that after so many doors.... you just didn't spend enough time on it and went too fast when moving the sander around, or didn't sand long enough?

Not sure how others do their panels, but I would think the ROS should be able to produce swirl free results....not sure why your panels all of a sudden started getting swirl marks.


Sorry I couldn't help more.
Zac

[deepsplinter]

Zac, some of them were OK, so maybe I was rushing it on the bad ones.

Mark, how do you sand the rest of the panels?

I usually go 100, 120 with my ROS, then hand sand with 120. I always go one grit finer on the end grain so it won't be darker.

I'll hit the damn things again tomorrow Slower and with 180.

But, I'm still open for suggestions.

[TDHofstetter]

I've always sanded mine by hand, "acoustic". I'm not sure I've ever stopped lower than 240. I don't stop sanding until my fingertips say it feels buttery-smooth.

[Stretch]

Mar 1, 2010 17:33:25 GMT -6 deepsplinter said:

Mark, how do you sand the rest of the panels?

I pretty much do it all with the ROS. I very rarely hand sand unless the ROS is too big. With the finishes I use, I can't tell the difference between the ROS and hand sanding, and going to a higher grit doesn't seem to make any difference either. Sounds to me like you didn't get rid of the lower grit marks with your medium grit paper, before moving on. If I don't get all the 80 grit swirls with the 120 grit step, I have the same results. That's actually one reason I use 80 then 120. 100 grit scratches look too similar to 120 grit scratches. It's easier to tell when the 80 grit scratches are gone.

[deepsplinter]

You're probably right, Mark. I'll go back and hit 'em with 120 again tomorrow to get the 100 swirls out.

Unless this "acoustic" thing is simpler. What da heck do ya mean by "acoustic" Tim?

[TDHofstetter]

That's a good point Mark makes - I do like to always keep my grit steps at about 150%. If I start with 60, I step up to 100, then to 150, then to 240. If I start with 80, I step up to 120, then 180, then 240. From 240 (depending upon the wood), 320 is a simple common step.

I always sand end grain about one grit step higher than side grain - I should mention that, too. Regardless, I'll use progressively higher grits as long as I can tell the difference. Very dense, fine-grained woods, of course, get much higher grits than coarse-grained woods. Maple & cherry sometimes ain't right till I've hit 400 or better.

[sawduster]

I think Stretch hit it with starting with the courser grit. One of the mistakes I made for a long time was starting sanding with too fine a grit to efficiently remove tool marks. Starting with the courser grit you get the job done quicker, even though you may be adding a sanding step or two. My experience with ash is that it is hard a grainy and susceptible to deeper tear out than some other woods, so the courser grit makes even more sense.

[art3427]

I start with 180 then go to 120 grit on the ROS. From there I do a final hand sand with those fine grit abrasive sponges. End grains just need a little more attention no matter how you sand them.

art

[TDHofstetter]

Mar 2, 2010 9:54:49 GMT -6 art3427 said:

I start with 180 then go to 120 grit on the ROS. From there I do a final hand sand with those fine grit abrasive sponges. End grains just need a little more attention no matter how you sand them.

art

I hope that's a typo, Art... and if it's not, I hope you go the other direction, from coarse grit to fine grit.

Did ya mean you start with 80 instead of 180?

[art3427]

One more idea. Before sanding I put on a diluted coat of stain. Just dark enough to collect in the scratces and highlight them. This really helps in situations where poor lighting or poor vision may be contributing to the problem.

art

[deepsplinter]

Well, I got 'em.

I'm thinkin' I was just rushing it.

I hit 'em with 120, then 150....slowly. (I did catch myself going too fast when Radar Love came on the radio though)

Got 'em stained this afternoon, too. There's 5-6 that I'm not happy with, so I work on those tomorrow. Out of 49, I guess 5-6 ain't bad.

Art, I'm gonna keep that diluted stain trick in mind.

[sachbvn]

".....been drivin' all night my hands wet on the wheel...." Damn good song - I sometimes perform the signature front man stage kick when a good tune comes on the radio and I'm in the shop...

Glad you got those sanding marks out.

Zac

[Doug B]

I don't have anything much to add...these days my expertise is with Micro Mesh sanding ;D

But, back when I used to do raised panels (and other flat work) I always wiped the sanding dust off with Mineral Spirits, which had the added advantage that it would make any hidden scratches show up to let me know I only thought I was done sanding I was pretty religious about doing that because the stain I normally use is a PITA to sand off.

It just might be a real time saver to wipe the panels down with a MS soaked rag before applying the stain.