Sanding before oil finish

kb9wyz · #1 08-24-2011, 11:55 AM

Hi all,

I am getting ready to oil finish a body, alder core w/maple front and back (tung oil if you are curious). From all that I am reading about sanding the wood before application, 400 grit seems to be the place to end before I put the oil on.

Question:
Is there any benefit to sanding the down finer than this before applying oil?

I can't imagine from a feel standpoint that there is any significant difference between 400 and 800, but if it will look better in the end, I'd like to know.

testing1two · #2 08-24-2011, 12:09 PM

Anything finer than 400 is really polishing, not so much sanding. There's no appreciable benefit to sand raw wood any finer.

john grey · #3 08-24-2011, 05:33 PM

I personally think that's about as far as I'd go - with Tung Oil as it's more of a finishing oil like linseed. You'd want to maintain some porosity so 400 is about it. IF you were to go further use steel wool as it won't fill up the grain. You could try going finer on the contact (body) areas or on "points" of the body & see if it gives a subtle luster.

kb9wyz · #4 08-26-2011, 05:26 PM

Sweet deal. Thanks for the info. As soon as I'm done wrestling the polyester off the body, I know what to do. That is, other than cry.