SNIP
Here is a chart on the wall at Martin Guitar telling their techs how far to go
with various woods - they have built 2-1/2 million guitars in 187 years and
their finishes are flawless
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Most go to 220, some get 320 machine and some get 320 handsanding, mostly the
harder surfaced woods
Note at the top it says:
"Do not sand with 320 on any body that receives a hand-rubbed stain"
END SNIP
Ed: You raise an interesting and touchy issue. On this and on the FWW forum I
frequented until a few years ago, people often exchange tips for getting very
highly polished surfaces on wood prior to applying the finish. However, when
sitting at the feet of Peter Gedrys, an acknowledged master finisher and gilder,
I was repeatedly warned by him not to use high grits on wood unless there was
some overriding reason. Such a reason might be that, ala James Krenov, one
wanted to leave the wood unfinished, with a silky tool finish. For most
purposes, Peter taught that 220 was the highest grit needed. Why? Because it
smooths the wood, yet leaves enough tooth to form a mechanical bond with the
finish. In fact, under normal circumstances, faced with wood polished or glazed
by tools, Peter sands at 220 to break the glaze and improve adherence.
Finer grits are used for wet sanding. There are two objectives with wet
sanding: a smooth surface; and tooth to help the mechanical bond with the next
coat.
Another point Peter made was that once a finish has some build to it, one is no
longer sanding the wood, so direction of grain is irrelevant.
Of course, many amateur furniture makers like the work of planning and
constructions and have no patience with finishing. Therefore, they tend towards
oils that can be "ragged on." Some very nice looks can be attained that way,
but there are limitations. I would guess though, that if one planned to simply
wipe on oil, a polished wood face would not matter.
Cheers!
J
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