Finish woes

[Jake Helmboldt]

OK, I screwed up and need some advice. I turned a bowl, sanded to 600 and gave it my usual finish of Waterlox (Tung oil varnish). There were more dust nibs than usual so I scuff sanded with with foam-backed 320 and put on another coat of varnich. After drying I noticed lots of sanding marks so I went back to sanding with 400 on the drill, but since I had turned the tenon off I had to do so holding it in my hand and didn't take it down to bar wood. Well, now there are new sanding marks (and maybe old as well?)

Is there any chance these are in the finish and not the wood? Without a vaccum chuck it will be a PITA to re-sand down to bare wood. What to do? Making things worse, this is for a fundraiser auction late this month. Ugh!:mad:

[John Keeton]

Jake, I hate to say this, but I think 320 would cut thru one coat of Waterlox (you didn't say how many coats??) pretty quickly. My guess is the marks are in the wood - not the finish. I hope I am wrong!!

What kind of wood is it? Perhaps hand sanding (not power sanding) would be better in this situation.

[Jack Gaskins]

I feel your pain,,,,,,,,,,,I NEVER get scratches out,,,,,,,,EVER. They are a P.....I....T....A!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[David E Keller]

I'm betting they're in the wood, too. I'm not sure it matters, as either way, you're looking at sanding it down until the scratches are gone. Been there, done that, will do that again.

[Jake Helmboldt]

John, I think I had 2 coats on at that point, perhaps 3. It is red (i.e soft) maple. I'm afraid you are probably right, but I was hoping someone would tell me otherwise. And of course sanding the varnish is a pain too with clogged paper. Maybe I'll use one of the other roughed out bowls and start over and try to save this one at a later date.

[John Keeton]

Jake, if you wet sand the bowl, the paper will not clog as badly, and you will also get a better finish. You might try wet sanding starting at 320 with some BLO or tung oil, and move up to 400. That should really be enough for finish. I rarely ever sand past 400.

[David E Keller]

Jake, you may be able to wet sand with mineral spirits to remove most of the finish and scratches... That may help keep the paper from clogging.

[John Keeton]

David, were I you, I would be really concerned that your mind is on the same wave length as mine!!!!!:eek: Really, really concerned!!;):D

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

David is correct. The mineral spirits will also make the paper cut faster. If you have a random orbital sander you can hand hold the bowl and sand as if it were flat work. You should be able to sand up to 600 grit and make the outside like glass. The inside will be more of a challenge unless you have access to a Chicago Pneumatic or Grex 2" ROS.
faust

[Scott Crumpton]

My advice and what I've actually done when I have one of these mistakes is to set it aside and go on with something else. Eventually, I end up with the correct tool or discover an easy fix. You already know the easy fix in this case, so just wait for it to come along. There are too many fun things you can do rather than worry about fixing mistakes that can wait.

[Jake Helmboldt]

Thanks guys. I think I'll try the MS or BLO wet sanding...but only after moving onto another bowl for this project. I can see getting bogged down in the "fix" and not getting a piece done for the auction. Plus I have to finish making pieces for the mini yurt for the auction as well. Yikes!

[David E Keller]

David, were I you, I would be really concerned that your mind is on the same wave length as mine!!!!!:eek: Really, really concerned!!;):D

I think the concern should be yours. Or perhaps, it is the other Creekers who should be most afraid.:eek::D

[Don Alexander]

you are now entering the twilight zone :eek::D:eek:

[David T gray]

i sand my best at night just resanded a 16'' bowl b/c of some nasty scratches i couldn't see earlier :(

[Nathan Hawkes]

Jake, you've gotten some great responses. I'd add that in my experience, red maple is a wood that is very prone to show sanding marks. I think you'd be much better served to cut back the little dust nibs with a 3M synthetic product than using sandpaper at all. The gray ultra fine, I think its 7445 or 7446 in number, is very good at this. I'd say its roughly equivalent to 800 grit paper; it really must be used on a drill, because by hand it will absolutely make scratches, but they seem to disappear if used on a drill pad. I occasionally use the white super fine pads as well, depending on the finish I'm trying to achieve. This step can usually be left out, IMHO. I love oil finishes, and use them exclusively, but they really do highlight scratches. You are not alone in frustration! ;)