Criticism from a master carpenter changed my approach to sanding

I had a job last year refinishing some oak cabinets in a 1920s house near Cincinnati. An older carpenter I respect watched me work and said, "You're jumping grits too fast, you're just polishing scratches." He was right. I used to go from 80 to 120 grit and call it good. Now I take my time with 100 grit in between and the finish comes out way smoother. Has anyone else gotten a piece of advice that seemed small but made a big difference in the final result?

3 comments

3 Comments

jordanblack25d ago

Hold up though, 80 to 100 to 120 is still jumping grits way too fast. You need something like an open coat 80 before you even hit 100 to really knock down those deep scratches.

derek_perez25d ago

yeah that's a really good point, I've actually had way better luck with an 80 grit open coat before going to 100. the key is you gotta let that open coat actually do its job instead of just burning through it like a closed coat. I usually run it at a slightly slower speed too, maybe 10-15% less than normal, and really let the paper do the work. you can actually feel when it starts cutting properly versus just pushing dust around.

the_nathan25d ago

Jumping from open coat 80 straight to 100?" That's skipping too much, gotta hit 90 first.