Sanding Wood Table Top

Sand the table beginning with the coarsest grit sandpaper 100 grit and sanding in the direction of the wood grain.

Sanding wood table top.

Lower numbered grades denote. Sandpaper grit size is important when sanding tables. Wipe the surface of the entire table using the tack cloth. Be sure to clean it off completely.

Tables are one of the most difficult surfaces to sand without creating swirls scratches or defects by using poor sanding techniques or materials. The higher the number the finer the grade. Staining the wood causes the wood fibers to swell as they soak up the stain. Sanding also creates a ton of dust and is a lot of work.

As the table dries after wet sanding a white residue will appear. The reason for sanding between coats is to knock down the swollen fibers to maintain a smooth surface. The grade or grit of sandpaper is based on the number of sand granules per square inch of paper. If you sand through the polyurethane and remove some stain you can touch up with more.

A little basic knowledge of sanding and preparing wood before staining will help your staining project go faster and easier. Residue left in the grain lines of coarse grain wood will be trapped under the final coat and haunt you forever. Lightly sand with 220 grit paper a very fine steel wool works too and clean with a tack cloth between coats. We have found that an environmentally friendly stripper works.

However we didn t want to sand the varnish off of this table because it was thick and doing so could remove too much wood and make the table top look uneven or imperfect.