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Final Wood Sanding Preparation
- Using incorrect sanding abrasives
- Insufficient air supply to sanding equipment
- Improper operator techniques/applying too much pressure, moving the sander too rapidly across the surface.
- Sander was dropped/bent pad
- Sander not lubricated/worn bearings/out of balance
- Insufficient dust collection/grinding dust into the wood leaving swirl marks
- Wrong type of backup pad
- Sander rpm too slow
- Excessive wood surface moisture
- Waiting too long to finish after sanding/swirl mark swells from humidity
- Stopping sander on the surface
- Starting sander before contacting the surface
- Wrong size sander orbit
- Dirty or damaged backup pads
- Wrinkled or torn paper
- Water and contamination in air supply
By correcting these problems and following these suggestions, you should achieve a high-quality sanding job. Now, white wood sanding is not so hateful after all!
Ed. note: Phil Stevenson is the founder of the American Wood Finishing Institute in Vineland, N.J. He can be reached at (888) 840-AWFI; www.awfi.org.
