How to Polish Wood With Sandpaper

Wood has a natural beauty unlike any other substance. Its distinct properties enhance furniture, floors, counter tops and sculptures. Whether refinishing an old piece of furniture or giving a woodworking project its final polish, choosing the right grit of sandpaper is important. Sandpaper is referenced by number, and the lower the number, the coarser the grit. Each type of wood has its own unique color and grain structure, and proper sanding brings out the surface luster, the warmth and richness of the color, and the depth created by the grain.

Things You'll Need

• Work gloves
• Filter mask
• Light
• Aluminum oxide (standard) sandpaper
• Optional sandpaper grits:
• Coarse: 80, 100
• Medium: 120, 180
• Fine: 220, 240, 280

Instructions

1. Remove large surface defects, such as glue joints or mill marks, with a coarse sandpaper. At this stage, you can sand against the grain. Sand with smooth, back-and-forth strokes while applying even pressure.

2. Blow the sawdust off the surface and examine the sanded area. If the defect has been sanded away, continue to Step 3. If the defect remains uneven with the surface of the wood, continue to sand with the coarse paper. Clear the sawdust frequently to check your progress. Do not over-sand with the coarse paper.

3. Examine the sandpaper scratch grooves in the wood. A lack of visible scratch grooves helps you determine when to move to finer grit.

4. Sand the surface of the wood with medium-grit sandpaper. You should now sand with the grain, using back-and-forth strokes with even pressure.

5. Blow the sawdust off the wood, and examine the sanded area under a light. If the coarse scratch pattern has been removed, continue to Step 6. If not, continue sanding. Check the scratch grooves frequently to determine when to continue to Step 6.

6. Sand the surface of the wood with fine-grit sandpaper. Try 220 or 240. Sand with smooth strokes and even, light pressure.

7. Blow off the sawdust and examine the wood under a light for scratch marks. Continue sanding until you see no scratch marks. Once the medium-grit scratch marks are removed, 220- or 240-grit scratch marks are usually not visible, and there's no need to go to a finer grit.

8. Do a final polish, if necessary, with 280-grit sandpaper.

9. Carefully remove all sawdust from the sanded surface.

Tips & Warnings

• Garnet Paper (orange) sandpaper works well on wood, but does not last as long as the standard aluminum oxide (brown) paper.

• If you have no large defects in your wood, start with the medium or even a fine grit of sandpaper.

• Wear a filter mask while sanding.

• Do not use Silicon Carbide Wet-Dry (black) sandpaper, or the light-gray papers. These are too abrasive for wood.

References

• Woodfinishing Surface Preparation
• A Guide to Wood Finishing from the Natural Handyman