How fine should you sand wood before staining?
On most raw woods, start sanding in the direction of the grain using a #120-150 grit paper before staining and work up to #220 grit paper. Soft woods such as pine and alder: start with #120 and finish with no finer than #220 (for water base stains) and 180 grit for oil base stains.
Should you sand pressure treated wood?
Sanding pressure-treated wood is actually contraindicated because, as Sand & Stain warns, you’ll end up partially removing the protective coating created by the pressure treatment, and the wood will look terrible.
Can you sand wood too much?
If wood gets over-sanded in one spot, it starts to become uneven, with a distorted sort of appearance. This can happen to even the most experienced woodworker. Usually this starts simply by attempting to sand out a discoloration, defect, scratch or gouge.
Is it possible to sand too much?
Sanding up to 400 really isn’t going to give you a smoother finish in the end. Because after the first coat of finish is applied, you are no longer dealing with the raw wood. You are dealing with the finish. With sanding between each coat, you’ll have ample opportunity to smooth the surface to your liking.
How long should sanding take?
If you’re using both the electric sander and the edger in 140 square-foot floor space, it will take you roughly 5 hours to do three sanding passes. Another thing you must take into account is how old your house is. If yours is 50 years old or more, you’ll need extra time to complete it.
Can you go from 60 grit to 120 grit?
Vacuum off the dust from the first sanding pass and move onto the next grit. This will be the next finer level of coarseness — 150 or 180 grit (if you started at 80 to 120 grit)….Going Through the Grits.
| Grit | Coarseness Level |
|---|---|
| 40-60 | Coarse |
| 80-120 | Medium |
| 150-180 | Fine |
| 220-240 | Very Fine |