Am I being too fussy about sanding scratches?
- Thread starter tmar
- Start date
Never too fussy, but ultimately you have to be satisfied with the end product. You will see things in a finished piece that non-turners will never notice. I usually sand through the first couple of grits, wet the piece with water to raise the grain and sand it back. Often helps with sanding out scratches but also gives a peek at what it will look like with a finish on it.
If you are happy, great. If you aren't happy, sand some more. Sanding is like baking. Sand to taste.
Can’t see any scratches in these photos because of bright light but I believe you.
I too get obsessed with seeing them and have spent too many hours trying to remove them. Find a happy medium in your brain to accept some in your pieces. If it’s what I consider a high end art/gallery piece I will endeavor to make perfect. Wet sand with water as mentioned and wet sand with finish really helps clean up problems. Also, a light touch with sanding medium is a must because pressing too hard with sand paper just causes more scratches.
I too get obsessed with seeing them and have spent too many hours trying to remove them. Find a happy medium in your brain to accept some in your pieces. If it’s what I consider a high end art/gallery piece I will endeavor to make perfect. Wet sand with water as mentioned and wet sand with finish really helps clean up problems. Also, a light touch with sanding medium is a must because pressing too hard with sand paper just causes more scratches.
I used to sand most everything down thru the grits to 600…occasionally going finer if really hard woods or acrylic. As opposed to going any finer with sandpaper I’ll tend towards buffing with tripoli wheel to remove any fine scratches left over. For bowls, peppermills or other handled pieces I don’t go finer than 400…often just 240 if treatment is walnut oil or similar.