What sandpaper to use?

[ppanousos]

I want to take off the oil finish on my Warwick Corvette FNA and put on a darker one.What number of sandpaper should i use,an 0000 maybe or harder?The wood is flame maple.

[Hambone]

Sandpapers are graded in a number scale beginning at 20 or so (coarsest) and going up to 8000 or so (finest). The 0000 number you refer to might be a steel wool grade.

You could do a good job with 600 grit paper to get the top coating off but remember that oil penetrates the grain so there will be quite a bit of sanding if you want to eliminate all of the oil that is deep in the wood.

[FBB Custom]

I'd probably start with something coarser than 600. Probably even 320. Who knows how deep the oil has penetrated. I don't have much patience for sanding.

How are you going to apply the new stain? Keep in mind that a penetrating dye has to get through whatever is already there, and that, for example, a water based stain won't want to mix with oil that's already there.

[Dugz Ink]

600 grit will give you a smooth surface, but it will clog real fast, which means that you'll use a million sheets just to get down to the wood. 80 grit will clog a lot less, but sanding out the sanding scratches may cause you to spend just as much time as using a million sheets of 600 grit.

I would start with about 250-300 grit, for faster removal with minimal scratches, then work my way back to 600-800 grit... depending on what the current wood/finish looks like, and what you want the final wood/finish to look like.

Use the 0000 (called "four-ought") steel wool between the new coats of oil.