Sand Paper Grit

[Theine]

Quick questions what grit sand paper do you all use before priming(Sealing)?  What about after priming(sealing) if any?

[mark poulson]

The smoother you get the bait at first, the less grain will be raised by the sealer.  A water-based sealer will raise more grain, because the wood absorbs some of the water and swells the looser top grain.

But, since you are going to prime over the sealer anyway, there is really no need to go crazy with super fine grit paper before you seal.

And every wood/sealer combination is different.

I'd suggest you do a test piece of whatever wood you're using with 80 grit, 100 grit, and 120 grit, and see which one works best for you.

Sand, seal, and see how each grit looks.  That will tell you how smooth you need to get that particular wood/sealer combination.

[RayburnGuy]

60 grit to shape............120 grit to get rid of the marks left by the 60 grit followed by 220 to further smooth it.........this is sometimes followed by 400 grit depending on what material I'm using.

 

Ben

[Vodkaman]

80 grit to fluff up the surface of the wood and let the CA glue soak in. 120 grit flapwheel to smooth down before another CA coat. Finish off with a slightly thinned epoxy coat.

Dave

[SW Lures]

I'm like Ray, but I make the first seal (a clear sealer w/hardener) before using the 400 grit. This will get rid of any raising of the grain.

After two coates of this type of sealer I use a paint sealer. I think of this paint sealer as more of a primer and a way to change shades of my paint schemes. I use white and black. Black will give a more deeper or richer scheme. It's all in what I'm looking for.

Hope this helps,

Dale

Edited March 4, 2016 by DaleSW