Project Sanding - How do you know when it is time to move up to the next higher grit?

[George Bokros]

I have often wondered how others make the call when it is time to move up to the next higher sanding grit. I go by feel, does it feel smoother than when I started with that grit. I know if you over sand, particularly with the finer grits, you can burnish the wood fibers and it will not take dye or stain well.

George

[Michael Kellough]

I scribble a soft pencil line all over the surface and sand it off. When all traces of the pencil line are gone, vacuum the surface to remove any loose abrasive particles and move on to the next finer grit.

I move to finer grits in 50% steps. 100>150>220>360

[Kent A Bathurst]

Pencil line good measuring stick. I go by feel.

220 & 360 are kinda Yikes!!

Me: 100 - 120 - 150. Done. Maybe 180. I don't skip a grit - it goes faster that way - no foolin'.

[johnny means]

When the scratch pattern from the last grit is gone it's time to change grits. Burnishing it's not the result of over sanding. A sharp piece of paper will continue to yield the same surface as long as it is sharp. Clogged or dull paper causes burnishing. When the paper loses the ability to sand and just starts rubbing the wood.

[Keith Hankins]

I follow the Charles Neil method and it works fantastic. I use a trace coat of dye (dye diluted heavily). Once you sand it away you are good to go. I also use to go through so many grits and thought you had to sand the pieces to heck before it would be good. That's just not the case. I do 120, 180 and 220 in places where it shows a lot like a table top. I go up one grit from there on end-grain. I think back before i learned that method of how much time I wasted on too much sanding. TM2CW. Good luck.

[Chris Padilla]

I'm pretty religious about my grits: 80, 100, 120, 150 and 180. I spend the most time on 80 to get rid of all machining marks, glue stains, etc. Then I do numbered passes with the rest of the grits. 3 times across, 3 times 90 degrees to the first, some diagnol, then back with the grain (I use a ROS pretty exclusively). For maple, I don't go beyond 150 because it doesn't take stain well as you go finer (if I'm staining). I break all edges by hand. When I'm done, I always use a raking light to make sure there aren't any scratches left and then I clean up the surface with odorless mineral spirits. The spirits clean the surface and provide a preview of what things will look like with finish on them.