Woody advice, sanding method

[Graniterich]

Do you guys always sand between coats? 220,by hand or orbital sander? How about steel wool? Any tips would be great!

[aggie79]

The answer somewhat depends on the type of finish you intend to use. Can you elaborate on this please?

[Graniterich]

Sorry, using minwax exterior polyurethane on exterior side walls. Plan on woody sides with aluminum top, thanks

[Graniterich]

Semi gloss finish

[Roly Nelson]

Now that my woody teardrop is 12 years old, and gets a fresh coat of spar varnish every year, I guess that makes about 15 coats total. I sand it by hand with 100 grit, wipe it down with a tack rag and smear on the varnish with a brush in one hand and a light in the other. That way I can see any misses or runs. Tipping it off with a felt brush might give you a smoother finish, but the brush is good enough for me. My varnish, Home Depot product, is thinned with 10% paint thinner and seems to flow out nicely. Good luck
Roly, the So Calif woody guy.

[48Rob]

I use the 3-M pads, the purpose is to give the next coat a little "tooth" to grab when applying multiple coats.
When sanding old work for a new coat, I use 220 grit paper, with a block and hand held paper. Using a power sander can work, but is very easy to go too deep and trash the stain.

Rob

[jonw]

Bare wood with an orbital palm sander with 100 grit. Between coats with either a 3M pad or sanding block with 220 grit, followed by a wipe down with a tack cloth and/or a damp microfiber rag/towel.

I also like to thin the exterior poly a little, which makes it easier to blend.

However the best finish I've found is by spraying multiple light coats with a HVLP sprayer - no brush marks or section overlap differences. Requires masking everything, but once masked the spraying goes fast and easy: one afternoon and you'll get it all done. Search for "HVLP" on this forum and you'll find more info and pictures...

Good luck!

[Graniterich]

Thanks everyone, I will go hand method, and real like the 'light in one hand' idea Roly! It was too cold last week to work early / late in the garage, so I brought the door inside and did three coats in the warm kitchen laid on counter. I did do one light sanding between 2 and 3, and it is smooth and looks great. I have done the same in garage on one side, ( I did not sand) and it is not nearly as smooth. Not the end of the world, I will sand and go again, but my mind wonders was it temperature, much larger area, much better lighting in kitchen, horizontal vs vertical....

Last week my wife asked "wouldn't it be easier to just paint the sides?" I calmly said yes, she backed off