Sanding past 220

[Randy Blake]

Hi all, I'm doing a project (DVD Storage) using red oak.

Is there any benefit to sanding past 220 grit?

I plan on staining and probably a lacquer top coat. There is some oak plywood involved and I am in the process of creating a test board and using a shellac washcoat to make sure the stain matches on everything.

Thanks in advance

Randy Blake

[Phil Phelps]

Usually oak shouldn't be sanded past 150 if you're staining. I wouldn't do that on a veneer, however.

[Jim Becker]

I don't go beyond 180, frankly...outside of on turnings that are closed grained and are going through major buffing.

[Joe Chritz]

On red oak I stop way before 220. Usually 150 ROS and off to finish. Some close grain woods need a little more sanding but the open pores in Oak make anything more than 150-180 overkill.

Joe

[Prashun Patel]

I don't know that we can make a blanket statement about open grains and sanding. It's also a function of the type of finish you want.

Sanding to higher grits burnishes the wood and starts impeding its ability to absorb finish and color. This can be a good thing on blotch prone woods and end grain, but can be a bad thing if yr looking to make a wood very dark.

Oak tends not to blotch, so leaving it 'just smooth' at 150 or 180 can be fine if yr staining.

If I were I planning to use little/no color and do an in-the-wood finish like oil or oil/varnish, then i'd actually sand to a higher grit to improve the feel of the wood. In this case it's not overkill (for me).

Also, I've had bad luck going straight from the ROS to finish - especially if it's going to be glossy. I now always follow my last grit with a hand sanding to remove swirls. It's not as noticeable on most oak finishes bkz of the prominent and open grain pattern which can distract from sanding imperfections... for me at least...

[Randy Blake]

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

I've already sanded to 220, so for this project I guess it's overkill. Next time I will save some time.

BTW, I finished my test board and I'm glad I took the time to do it. The finish will be straight stain on the 3/4" oak and a dilute 1:1 Sealcoat wash coat then stain on the plywood portions.

Randy

[Glen Butler]

On the stairs in my current avatar (hickory - but oak is very similar in grain structure) I had some staining anomalies which I scrubbed out with an 80 grit block and rewiped the stain and no one would be the wiser. Not that I would recommend that as a practice though. Simply saying that it is very forgiving.