How To Sand Wood – How To Sand Wood for Painting
The ideal preparation of wood for painting is the basis for any work on the plot or in the home garden. The knowledge of sanding wood will come in handy when you are laying a wooden floor on your own or dreaming about renovating an old, antique piece of furniture. What is worth buying and what rules should you follow?
What kind of wood sanding paper is the best? Advice and inspiration
Smoothing and sanding of wood is one of the basic procedures related to the preparation of wood for use. It is not only a matter of aesthetic values – it is also for the safety of users and extending the life of an object. Skillful polishing of wooden surfaces gives them shine, brings out the beauty of a varied texture, and has a significant impact on color – the smoother the surface, the brighter the color.
Which wood sanding paper is the best and where to start before working?
The first step is to thoroughly clean and dry the wood. Sometimes, it happens that a product bought in a shop has not been properly stored and therefore the wood is wet or dirty. Old, antique wooden furniture or planks from an old barn, from which you want to make a coffee table or an original mirror frame, also need cleaning.
If the floorboards or staves are wet, unpack them from their packaging and give them free air. It is best to lay them out at room temperature and wait a few days before treating and maintaining them. Once you have covered them with an impregnant, it will not be possible to dry them thoroughly.
Similarly, when buying floorboards, it is worthwhile for the wood to lie down for a few days at the temperature at which it will be laid.
Then, if necessary, start removing old layers of paint, varnish or other impregnants. Use thick, low-grade sandpaper for this purpose. There are many different types of sheets on the market, the most popular gradations are:
- coarse grain size (designation 40-60);
- average (80-120);
- fine (150-180);
- very fine (220-240)
- super fine (from 280 upwards).
Sanding paper can be purchased in the form of rectangular sheets, abrasive belts, and rolls, as well as round caps, which you will use when working with the grinder. If the amount of unnecessary substances is significant or the area to be cleaned is more than a few square meters, you can use a grinder or a special attachment attached to the drill. When the boards aren’t big, you can try to polish them by hand.
Make sure to use higher-grained sandpaper at the beginning or test how it will behave in contact with wood in a less visible area. It is important to be precise and to use the right tools, especially if you want to avoid damaging the surface when sanding wood, but only remove unnecessary dirt.
How to sand wood? Sanding wood from scratch
Sanding wood with wood sanding paper – granulation and its size – is the basis of every DIY enthusiast’s knowledge. Once you have chosen the right product for you, it is time to get down to work.
What kind of paper do you need to sand the wood? Start with the thicker kind. If you decide on a high gradation fine, it will take more time to refine the wood and might be less effective. Remember to try to move the wallpaper along with the jars or polish the paper in gentle, circular movements.
After you get rid of the first layer and the wood is clean, start polishing. The gradation of the sanding paper for wood will allow you to gradually move to an increasingly gentle smoothing until you reach perfect softness.
However, before you cover the whole thing with a suitable coating, make sure that there are no traces or scratches left on the surface. At first glance, they may not be visible, but all you have to do is vacuum the whole thing thoroughly and wipe it off with a damp cloth – then you will see the places that need to be worked on.
Most often these are the edges of the sanded part, over which we focus least when sanding wood. When working, however, make sure that the edges are properly smoothed.
After sanding, cleaning, and vacuuming the wood, cover it with some Protective-Decorative Coating. They are designed to protect and decorate wood, emphasizes the natural beauty of the raw material, protects against damage and adverse weather conditions.
It is suitable for both indoor and outdoor use and comes in a variety of colors to give your wood the character it needs right away. It contains a wax that increases water resistance and gives a coating that is resistant to fungus, mould, blue and algae.
This way, prepared and secured wood will be a real decoration of the house and will serve you for many years! Remember that if you are planning to paint and sand wood for outdoor use, then first apply a wood primer.
