inbetween coats rub for poly

[Gary Liming]

I am sure this has been addressed before, but my idea of searching fo rit came up without what I am looking for...


I spray a coat of polyurethane on a piece, and let it dry. Despite my best efforts and running air cleaners, there always seems to be some raised grain and dust. What I am looking for (ideally) is something to knock off these fuzzies without taking too much of the finish off so that the next coat lays flat. Something like a medium steel wool (but I won't use that!) in coarseness that doesn't clog up like a real fine sandpaper would.

Any suggestions? What do you all use on your projects?

Thanks,

[Prashun Patel]

You can use a wet/dry sandpaper properly lubricated with mineral spirits or soap/water.

You can also use a stearated sandpaper if you wish to sand dry (~400). I read an article that recommends keeping a scrap of a tight weave carpet like berber near by to keep cleaning the paper with.


Are you spraying too thick or with too much air?

[Joe Cunningham]

Stearated sandpaper is an option, something like 320 or 400 grit.

Or one of the Scotchbrite pads. I use the white and gray for 0000 and 000 substitutes.

[Gary Liming]

Thanks for the replies guys - I think the gray scotch pad was just what I was looking for.

But now that you mention it - what is the practical difference between the stearated sandpaper and one with the regular aluminum oxide? Does the stearated one last longer, or clogs less, or what. I am not sure why I would get one over the other.

[Prashun Patel]

sterated is impreg'd with a waxlike substance that helps the paper keep clogfree longer. Used to be that the stearates could inhibit some types of finish from adhering. However, it's written that modern stearated spaper doesn't have the same prob.

So, the reason to use non-stearated over regular is largely now just a price issue.

[Anthony Albano]

Quite often I crunch up brown paper grocery bags and rub out my finish with them. They kind of buff and burnish and leave a nice finish

[Steve Schoene]

Using sand paper, on a sanding block, is a much superior method of removing such imperfection. When you use a flexible medium, like the 3M pads, it follows the little hills and valleys in the early coats, so that they are never removed and you don't get the level, flat surface you may have expected.