Wet Sanding Techniques

Wet sanding is often used on drywall, wood and painted areas as an alternative to dry sanding. With wet sanding, fewer dust particles are released into the air, often making it a cleaner job. As a result, people with allergies and asthma can perform wet sanding much more easily than dry sanding. Wet sanding requires a special type of sanding paper which must be rinsed repeatedly during the process. While the name suggests lots of water, the paper is actually only damp during the sanding process.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Wet sanding paper
• Sanding block
• Water
• Bucket
• Squeegee

1. Use sanding paper that is designed for wet sanding. Generally, the gauge used is 60 or 150 grit.

2. Affix the paper to a rubber sanding block. Follow your particular sanding block's instructions for attaching the sandpaper.

3. Fill a bucket with water. Room temperature water works best.

4. Dip the sanding block into the water. Proceed to sand as you normally would. If you are sanding wood, sand in the direction of the wood's grain. If you are sanding plaster, sand in long lines. If you are sanding paint, keep your pressure light and be very careful around edges where paint can fully strip.

5. Keep the sanding block damp by placing it in the water every minute or so.

6. Use a squeegee on the surface every few minutes. This will remove wet material that has come loose. You must remove this wet material before it dries or it may stick to the area.

7. Apply water to the surface you are sanding. You can lightly mist the area with water for additional dampness.

8. Switch to finer grades of sand paper as you progress. This will help you to achieve the best level of smoothness.

9. Maintain steady, even pressure as you wet sand. If you vary your pressure, you'll end up with uneven results.

Tips & Warnings

• Remove debris promptly. If left there, debris can stick between the surface and the sandpaper, making for jagged results.