To what grit do you sand?

[Glen Blanchard]

When is fine grit, sufficiently fine to apply one's choice of finish? 400? 600? 800? Higher?

I have heard of folks sanding up to 4K grit and have also heard that anything over XXX grit is a waste of time - that about all one does after a certain grit is burnish. If memory serves, that argument was not to bother with anything over about 220 - 300 grit.

For this conversation, let's limit this discussion to wooden bowls/vessels/vases.

When do YOU stop? Inquiring minds and all that.

[George Bokros]

I sand to either 180 or 220 depending on what I am trying to accomplish and the project.

[Brian Kent]

320 with dewaxed shellac. 400 with Wood Turners finish or wax.
For Cocobolo without a coating, about 12,000.

[charlie knighton]

I hate sanding

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Glen,
That all depends on what is next. Will you apply finish directly over bare wood? Will you paint or sand blast? I sand a salad bowl to 400 grit. Salad bowls get an oil finish and are expected to have a useful life. They will quickly show a bit of wear.
I spray lacquer on my hollow forms so if the wood will not be dyed I go to 1000 grit on most woods. Those last grits from 400 to 1000 take a few seconds each and lacquer has no problem bonding to a finely sanded finish. Even pieces intended for alcohol based dyes get sanded to the max. The use of dyes has allowed woodworkers to sand to a finer finish and still be able to achieve a deep color. When we used to stain wood with oil stains we had to leave fuzz on the surface so the pigments had something to absorb into. Dyes penetrate even finely sanded surfaces.
Folks who use water based dyes may stop short of a mirror sanded finish.
Now, if I intent to paint, especially with milk paint, the surface needs a bit of "bite" to give a mechanical bond to the paint. Then I might stop at 220.
faust

[Bill Hensley]

I usually only go to 220, maybe lightly at 280 if spraying my finish on. If it's an oil finish I will go to 400, maybe 600 depending on the wood.

[Brian Ashton]

Depends on what your doing. If I were making a totally utilitarian bowl used to hold fruit, lets say a piece of mango from the back yard, then I'd probably sand to 280 and coat with a non-toxic oil. It's going to live in the kitchen, get banged around, the sap from the various fruits and such are going to get all over it and then wiped down with a dirt dish cloth... Anymore finishing and it would be wasted on such a bowl. If it were a pounce pot made from some sort of exotic hardwood such as ebony (I'll be given one to a friend I've known for 42 years who lives in the UK when I arrive their shortly) then I'll sand to at least 1200 wet/dry and buff with a cut wax to the point where the surface looks like polished acrylic or glass... This guy is a Doctor or British History and hangs with all sorts of well to do folks so I want something that is going to give a bit of wow factor and, hopefully, appeals to his historical livelihood. This will be a gift that will live on a desk and handled with kit gloves and hopefully he'll show it to his uppity friends and such. It'll even have genuine cuttlefish bone pounce. In this case the extra effort I think will be worth it.

Sort of like whats below

[Rob Miller]

I go to an 800 wet paper, but only because that's the finest paper I've got at the moment. I'll probably go to 1500 or so when I get serious about it.

[Reed Gray]

For utility bowls, I stop at 400. You can see 320 scratches, but 400 are almost invisible. For others, it depends on the wood. Softer woods look fine at 220, but harder ones really shine/glow at 1000 and up. When I did flat work, the guy who did my spray work didn't want it sanded beyond 220 because any finer and the finish would not adhere as well. I guess that idea was you sand the wood, but buff the finish.

robo hippy

[John Keeton]

First, the prepped surface, prior to sanding, is of utmost importance. And, one needs to spend adequate time on the lower grits and not rush it. As one progresses up in grit, it takes far less time. I probably spend 50% of sanding time at 150.

On a utilitarian bowl, I start wet sanding with walnut oil at 220, then 320, then 400 and burnish with 0000. For art pieces, I find that I can get a very nice finish sanding to 400, and on rare occasion, to 600. For an "in the wood" lacquer or acrylic finish, this is easily adequate. If using a film finish, my surface sanding is the same and I will wet sand the finish to 1200 before buffing. While I am sure others feel differently, for my purposes, I haven't seen the need to go further with the grits. Neither does it seem to affect the marketability of my work.

On exotics used for finials/pedestals, that is a different situation and I sand to 2000.

[David A. Peterson]

I generally go to 2000. I don't make turnings to sell and have reached the point where I give them away to relatives and friends. When I give away a bowl, the first comment is that they can't believe how smooth it is. If I had a beale buff system, I probably would not go that high.

[neil mackay]

As stated, much to do what your turning. I would also add how you sand or the method as well. I sand a lot with the inertia type sanders. This type of sander will leave you with a higher or finer finish than you normally get from the grit grade. So I find 150 will look like 320, so with that my fine finishes are done with 220 and then a polishing compound such as EEE.
I often carve the outside so 150 would be the max with these forms

[George Bokros]

You guys that are going to 800 grit and above, are you using those fine grits after finish or prior to finish? I am assuming it is after finish.

Thanks

George

[Prashun Patel]

I always sand up to 220 dry. Above that, it depends.

For in-the-wood, I wet sand up progressively with the oil/varnish as high as I have patience for.
For film, I sand to 400 or 600 wet with the varnish or even just MS, then I build the finish from there, sanding with either 400 or 600 between coats if necessary.

I sand with 1000 or 1500 or 2000 only as a final buffing or deburring. I don't do this with varnish - only with water or MS; sanding this high with varnish leads to clouds and smears. I find that I do, however, need the ms or water as a lube or the paper clogs too quickly.

[Ken Glass]

When I use a Ca finish on Pens, I sand 1500 to 12,000. On turnings such as bowls, HF's etc., I always go to 400 and then depending on the wood and the finish chosen, I will go up to 2000 if need be.

[Rich Aldrich]

I typically go to 600 grit. If you do a good job with the tools, you can start out with finer grit. I spend more the time at the more coarse grits and the fine grits take no time at all.

[John Grace]

Like many others have posted...I typically let the type of wood (cocobolo vs maple), the function (utility vs 'art'), and finally function (salad bowl or bread bowl) dictate those final grits. Then again, I too have to regularly remind myself that the more patient one is with sanding typically the better the final product.

Rough functional pieces, usually to about 300 grit.

Cocobolo or other high end exotics, at least to 600 grit.

If I pay 'silly' high end money for an Australian blank then I'll spend the extra time sanding it.

Cheers...