Help with sanding unstabalized wood. Is too fine a bad thing?

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GrizzlyBear

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I read somewhere in another post where someone suggested that the OP not sand unstabalized wood any higher than 320 because going to higher and finer grits will hinder the ability of the finish to get into the wood.

Is this true? Should unstabalized wood, that is going to get an oil finish for instance, not be sanded past 400?

What about for oily woods that really don't need an oil finish? Can you go higher with them?

What is the general rule of thumb most often used?

Thanks!
 
I respectfully disagree. Penetration should not be affected and many woods - curly koa as an example - are at their most spectacular with a super fine finish - and are often used unstabilized.

...just a personal opinion.
 
KnifeMaker.ca said:
I respectfully disagree. Penetration should not be affected and many woods - curly koa as an example - are at their most spectacular with a super fine finish - and are often used unstabilized.

...just a personal opinion.
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I agree,I sand everything up to 1200-1500.If you think a finish is nice at 320 it will really pop at 1200.I have never had a problem with it taking a finish.
Stan
 
Thanks, this was the point of my post...to get a variety of opinions from everyone I could.

In a way, the guy who said not to sand past 320/400 had a point with that the finer grits close up the pores of the wood making it harder for it to take a finish. Or, is this idea simply not correct?
 
Maybe some of the real wood guys will pop in,but I use Danish oil for most of my non stabilized handles and have never had a proble with it taking a finish.I will even wet sand my first few appications of Danish with 1500 and let it soak.
Stan
 
Wood should not be referred to as porous or non porous it is either open grained, such as oak or hickory or closed grain such as dogwood or walnut.
The grain cannot be sanded closed neither can it be opened up; it is what it is.

Open grained wood is often sealed during sanding, by applying sanding sealer, between coats. The quality of finish desired is what dictates the number of coats applied. The final finish is applied on top of these sanded coats.
In the case of closed grained woods no sanding sealer is needed; the finish is applied to the sanded surface of the wood.
Many different techniques are used to bring out the beauty of wood surfaces. Sanding is one of them; there is also burnishing, the application of sealers like sanding sealers or wood conditioners like linseed oil or penatrol.
Finishing wood surfaces is a skill all its own; there are many many ways to do it.
As far as sanding with to fine a grit' that does not apply in any situation that I can recall.

Fred
 
when using a film forming finish, woodworkers generally stop around the 300 grit mark because polyurethane needs something to grip on as it does not penetrate the surface of the wood very well.
for oil based finishes (I'm a great fan of Danish oil & Tru-oil) the higher a polish you put on the wood, the better your final finish will look.

it's sort of like finishing the metal on a blade -- if you're going to cover it with a coating such as epoxy powder coat, you don't need a high grit finish, but if not, then you want to polish it up pretty smooth.
 
While on the subject of finishing wood I have a question about sandpaper. Does the type of abrasive such as aluminum oxide and silicon carbide make a difference when sanding wood? Is one better than the other? If so which one and why?

Thanks, Darrin.
 
Dark colored abrasives will dirty light colored wood in my experience. That's one reason I switched to Rhinowet for general use.
 
Dan Pierson said:
Dark colored abrasives will dirty light colored wood in my experience. That's one reason I switched to Rhinowet for general use.
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Exactly. Rhinowet is red and doesnt leave wood blackish from the dust like wet/dry black paper. Cheaper, comes in all grits and wears well.
 
Fred.Rowe said:
The grain cannot be sanded closed neither can it be opened up; it is what it is.
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I agree. All wood is "porous".

How fine you finish it depends more on the "grip" you want and the sealer/finish you're going to use.

The high-end rifle/knife/furniture guys don't touch sandpaper to their wood, they use fine-edged scrapers to avoid dust clogging the grain, and other related techniques.
 
Bruce Bump said:
Exactly. Rhinowet is red and doesnt leave wood blackish from the dust like wet/dry black paper. Cheaper, comes in all grits and wears well.
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My last knife used redwood burl and I wondered why it looked blackish in places after I wetsanded it from 800-2000. I thought man, it's getting dirty from my hands...but apparently it was from the paper.
 
Thanks for the tip on the Rhinowet guys I'll have to get some. Mind sharing some good sources?
 
I've never had a problem with the black norton wet/dry sandpaper leaving black marks or making it dirty.

I agree with the film type finish like polyurethane it helps if it has something to grip to.
 
Larry D. Davis said:
:(

ALL wood is porous and the correct classification is either ring porous or diffuse porous.
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Thank you for the clarity about porosity of wood. The more porous the species, the more sealer or finish it will take to get a desired look.
I concur; all wood is porous.:thumbup:

Furniture maker or knife-maker; its stability, eye appeal and ease of finishing that effect the choice.

Fred
 
Absolutely. The terms, open or closed grain have a significant place as they refer to pore size. Figure in wood is like candy flaver...no one fits all.
 
Larry,

I see you have listed, two different residence locations; would you explain this.

Regards, Fred
 
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