sanding end grain

[Derek Voigt]

I'm sanding some protruding finger joints for a blanket chest and I sanded them up to 320. Once all the dust is wiped off I see some white marks on the ends. I know that this typically means that they need to be sanded more, but I wiped them down with some DNA to get a feel for how they would look with finish on them and they all looked good.

Will they be ok as is? Or should i go back to 180 and sand up so that no white is visible in the end grain at all?

Thanks,
Derek

[Keith Hankins]

General rule of thumb for me, is to take endgrain one grit higher than the long grain. I generally do 220 to and 400 on end-grain. Mainly thats the one grit higher i have on hand. If you hit it with either mineral spirits or DNA it should give you an indication of what it will look like. You should be ok.

[Jim Matthews]

I burnish exposed endgrain with a harder dowel, before applying finish.

If the surface is highly visible, I use a painter's tack cloth before finishing.
Shellac first, then whatever penetrating oil, afterwards.

End grain draws in solvents, by capillary action.

[Jamie Buxton]

My experience is that if I can see that white haze before the finish goes on, I'll see it afterwards.

[Ellery Becnel]

I have been making endgrain chopping boards lately and the endgrain is tough. The white marks are the fine fibers from the cut or tearout. The finish will hide some but
it will still be visible if you look close. It is your choice when you want to stop and call it done. It is a slow process. I just finished building a "V" drum sander. It works
great on endgrain. What I did in an hour and half was taking me 5 to 7 hours to do with other sanders. I do the final sanding with 400 on a 1/4 sheet PC vibrating sander.
That way I can do the roundovers.

Ellery Becnel