Finding the right sanding tool for your project is half the battle of finsihing a great piece of furniture with all the details nicked, rubbed, and replaced. Luckily, we here at Coach At Home are here to help!
For most crafts, there is a standard depth to the sanding surface. For example, standard thicknesses range from ¼- thick.
Standard lengths range from short- length pieces to get you started and extra length pieces that you can wrap and keep on your furniture all year long. Once you get the hang of it, standard lengths will work fine!
As mentioned earlier, finding the right length for your sanding surface depends on what type of wood you are working with. Some require more length than others do.
Contents:
Medium sandpaper
Medium sandpaper is usually classified as having a lower coarser grade. Because of this, it can be tricky to use. Due to its texture, it can be difficult to know when and where to use it.
To really make a difference in the look of your furniture, you must use medium sandpaper on fairly smooth surfaces. If you have to apply more coarse sandpaper or any kind ofhardwood, the end result might be less desirable. Especially with plywood used as a substrate, there is a good chance that some grain might get destroyed with the very high precision required with regular sanding tools.
Medium sandpaper is great for finishing off projects such as priming furniture or removing surface imperfections that might harm the wood.
Hard sandpaper
Because of their high molecular weight, wood grains are considered hard. This makes them more difficult for scissors and sandpaper to pass through.
The average hand-held nubbin has a grit rating of around 600. This means that the end of the sandpaper disc is still slightly rounded and thick. Typically, the smaller nubbin sandpaper has a lower grit rating, which is why it is often mixed with either a Telephone or 36-grit paper.
The larger nubbin paper has a slight nobby shape to it, making it more likely to fit in your hand without being too heavy to hold. It may also have a different color or material, making it easier to tell what it is!
Because of its thickness, the larger nubbenb Davidson has some memory lost when working with them.
Synthetic paper
A very common sanding tool is paper. Many people use plain white cardboard as a sandpaper base. This allows you to control the angle of the paper against the wood, and helps create different textures in your project.
This is a great tool to have if you do not want to use fine-grit sandpaper for your project. While regular old sandpaper will work, it can get dirty and lose its shine over time. With the paper, you can control how fine the texture is, how thick it is, and whatangle it is at.
You can also get creative with how you use the paper. You can use cereal or bread boxes as media for your projects, you can put some colored sheets on top of the white to create different projects, or you can combine them with other materials such as canvas or plywood to create new projects.
Whether you choose soft-tooth or machine-cutting skills does not matter; when looking at projects on social media, they are always being created by those with more machine-cutting skills.
Steel wool
When looking for a sanding tool, there are a few things that you should be aware of. The first is that there are two kinds of steel wool. There is regular steel wool, and the very fine ones used for dusting.
Regular steel wool can be used on most materials, including wood. The slightly finer the Steel Wool, the more difficult it is to use. The thicker the Steel Wool, the less difficult it is to use.
The other kind of sanding tool is the one-dee mix between a sifter and a chaser. This tool is used to dust particles off of an object and prepare it for paint or whatever else you want to apply on it.
Sanding tools are very important when doing refinishing jobs.
Angle grinder with sandpaper
While a hammer is a very good sanding tool, the angle grinder is hands down the best. Due to its large size, the angle grinder can make several passes over a piece of furniture to refinish it.
Because of its broader surface area, the angle grinder can also sand more effectively on some materials than the disk-style sandpaper. This can be useful for finishing off pieces that would be difficult to purchase as new and in boxes.
Because of the way it works, a bit of dusting with feather dusting paper before painting is essential for achieving an even finish. Using a high-quality paint will help prevent any water spotting or water forgiveness.
The most common mistake made by beginning furniture refinishers is going too short with the angle grinder. Because it takes longer to do some edges properly, this is worth practicing early on.
Orbital sander with paper
The best tool for finishing off any wood project is a orbital sander with paper. This can be done with either hard or softwood, any shape or size furniture, or decorations.
Unlike other tools such as the chisel, the orbital sander does not have to be sanded down to the nub before it can be used. After gluing up the pieces together and determining how much decoration you want on each piece, you are off!
The sander can also be used for small repairs and refinishing of other items. For example, you could use it to refinish glass if you cut out the part that lets it heat up when sanded.
Or you could use it on small decorations like putti for your home decorating scene. You can find these tools at most furniture stores and furniture stores.
Hand pad tool with paper
If you are refinishing furniture with cloth or leather, you will also need a hand pad tool. These are small, flat surfaces that you can use to hold your fingers on while sanding a piece of furniture.
Using a hand pad tool helps prevent finger-line sanding, which is when the sandpaper gets only one side of the wood smooth. This is what happens when you use a dedicated sandpaper surface such as paper or foam.
Garrrrease foam board is our favorite because it is inexpensive and available in many sizes. It works great as a hand pad because it is thin and really needs to be used. You do not have to spend money thickened cardboard or something else to achieve this!
Look for tools that are made of sturdy materials so they do not go away after use.
Upholstery brush with paper
If you’re refinishing furniture with a cloth rather than a foam brush, you may want to consider a paper frontline. The foam brush can cause the cloth to stick and pull off the furniture.
Many people use a combination of fingers and a finger nail polish remover as the paper frontline. This works great!
As expected, using a wet vacuum as the flooring may not work. A dry vacuum works better than a coffee cup or tissue dryer!
As mentioned before, you can use just your finger or nail polish remover as the paper frontline. You will still need to apply some pressure when brushing the wood throughly away the old finish.