I’ve recently become more intrigued by the finishing aspect of my projects. As I read and experiment with new finishes, I’ve read a lot of books, all of which focus on sading between coats and rubbing out. Unfortunately,they all reference only flat surfaces like tabletops. How do you do between coats sanding on intricate surfaces like the moulding on the inside of a frame and panel door? Is a buff with synthetic steel wool adequate for these areas, or is the nightmarish, tedious sanding that I imagine necessary? Same goes for rubbing out. I can see leveling the big, flat areas by sanding since they’ll reflect the most light, but I’m wondering if the mouldings will really benefit from the same process. Also, I like a “close to the wood” finish, so I’m concerned that I’d sand through any crisp edges in the moulded surface. Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.
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Replies
Chuck,
I run into this dilemma all the time too. As yet i have not found a perfect solution (other than having all parts near perfect smooth before assembly/finishing). But I have had some success in great detail areas by using combinations of toothbrushes, fine wire brushes, old nylon stockings and scotch brite pads. I try to stay away from sand paper or only use very old and worn paper with a light touch to avoid going thru a finish. For me finishing is the most difficult aspect of wood working, especially since my shop is so dusty.
sawick
Anything frame-and panel gets the panel finished before the frame is glued up; this helps a lot. I cover the panel with masking tape and newsprint while i do the finishing of the frame. Same for other types of finishing, as in finishing the insides of a box before gluing the sides together.
I make sculpture bases for bronzes for a foundry near me. These have molded edges on contours. I haven't yet seen an edge right off the router bit that i would spray for this level of finish, so i do spend a lot of time sanding the molding, also the finish. I use something like 320 for the first couple coats of finish, and by the third coat, if i haven't done something dumb and formed a drip or sag in the finish, i can buff with a nylon pad for a final rubbing out.
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