Final Sanding Grit ?

[Mike Burke]

I'm sure there's a thread here some where but couldn't find it. I am building an night stand out of QSWO. I plan on plan on following #6 finish from Jeff's site.
http://homesteadfinishingproducts.co..._rev1-2011.pdf (http://homesteadfinishingproducts.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/mission_oak_rev1-2011.pdf)

150 grit final sanding is suggested. Seems a little rough , but I understand I don't want to "polish" the wood to find either.
Hand sanding and RO sanding produce different surfaces. Seems the RO produces a softer/smoother surface with a lower grit than hand sanding...if that makes sense.

What final grit do you sand before applying this type of finish ?

I am thinking 180 hand sanding

Thanks

[John TenEyck]

I've always followed Jeff's advice and been pleased with the results.

John

[Bruce Page]

In general, I usually go to 180 or 220 and occasionally to 320 for visible surfaces.

[Jamie Buxton]

OP, when I follow your link, Homestead tells me it is broken. Perhaps you could describe your process a bit.

The name of the file says ..mission oak.. in it. So I'm guessing you're going to stain the oak. Staining can highlight sanding scratches because the stain pigment particles lodge in the scratches. If you're using a ROS, I'd go down to 320. If you're hand sanding, you might get by with 180, but you have to be careful to not sand cross-grain anywhere.

[Jim Becker]

I rarely go beyond 180 on bare wood and sometimes stop at 150. It really depends on the species, the project and the intended finish. If I pull out some 220 or 320, it's often for either careful breaking of edges or for something that's in a very fine grained wood that will get a hand-applied oil finish.

[Mike Burke]

Thanks for the input, suggestions.

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/viewer.html?pdfurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhomesteadfinishin gproducts.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F09%2Fmission_oak_9-2020.pdf&clen=97445&chunk=true

Sample #6 is mostly natural finish. Sanding sealer, light gel stain and a few wipe on coats of Arm R Seal

I think I will step it up to 180 , hand sanding and then follow the rest of his steps.

Thanks again

[John TenEyck]

Homestead's website works fine for me when I go there directly. Here is what Jeff says about preparation for his mission oak (Stickley style) finishes:

PreparationThe factory uses quarter-sawn white oak for all its Mission Furniture. If you use something different it will not look like the factory finish or the samples below. It’s not wrong to use a different wood, but keep that in mind. After completing the building process, sand the wood with 100, then 120 and then 150 grit and wipe the wood with distilled water. Sand with 180 grit when dry and remove all the dust from the pores. You can use a shop vacuum or blow the dust off with compressed air. The pores must be clean and free of all sawdust before proceeding so check the surfaces carefully.

And here's a link to where that is on his website: https://homesteadfinishingproducts.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/mission_oak_12-2021.pdf

I built a Stickley style cabinet several years ago and followed the process Jeff describes, although I used a different dye recipe. 180 is fine enough for this type of finish because you seal in the dye before applying the gel stain. I thought it came out well and the client liked it.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AM-JKLUcau1HSJZOYSI8WnbRn0I8CY1dCNaPE-v1-qe5WrQRNcO53dCHIvByBPyZ4MPNPGwXvfk_NGGUdxHy57WL3Lh 8UVrTlfYyR4K_79rk20Xw4m_985_dNBA8CQTURJcEN00qZsMkI BIW2_zCzhLVstyMKA=w600-h800-no?authuser=1



John

[Andrew Seemann]

I just did a mission style bed with a modified version of one of the recipes. I sealed the dye with shellac, did the gel stain, sealed that with shellac, and then did the Arm R Seal. I think it gives it a slight bit more depth, and it keeps the dye & gel stain from having attitude problems with the next step.

I did 150 with a Mirka ROS, raised the grain, and did a final hand sand at 180, as recommended. It turned out well.