How To Prep Wood For Sanding

Wetting the wood will raise the little fibers on its surface.

How to prep wood for sanding. The hand brush will get rid of rough pieces and bits. This will clear the area of larger debris making it easier for you to see any areas of damage. It is the primary tool to clean the woodwork.

Wipe down the whole surface with a tack cloth to remove any dust from sanding. To sand and prepare wood before staining first identify the type and grit of sandpaper to be used. Wet the wood and sand it one last time with 200-grit sandpaper.

Go around with a hammer and make sure you sink all of these nails back into the hardwood floor. To check your work run a sock over the sanded wood. You want to remove any old paint flakes or dust thats been left on the surface.

For bigger jobs use a power sander but first practice on a spare piece of wood. Wood covered in an old undamaged varnish Ensure that you remove any flaky parts and then roughen the entire surface to enable better keying. Wipe the wood clean of debris and dust.

Then switch to fine sandpaper 200 grit until the entire piece is uniform. Using a damp towel wipe down the wood. The technique of wetting the wood down before staining is called popping the grain.

For smaller wood items like furniture wash the wood. It takes four steps to sand wood to perfection. Allow the dampened wood to dry 30 minutes before the final sanding.