How-To Videos › Hobbies › The Secret to a Glass-Smooth Wood Finish (3 Steps)

The Secret to a Glass-Smooth Wood Finish (3 Steps)

Sand through every grit, raise the grain, and thin your first coat. Three steps to a flawless wood finish.

What you'll learn

Don't skip grits. One. Sand up through the grits in order, and never skip one. Each grit removes the scratches left by the last. Jump from eighty to two-twenty and you just polish the deep scratches.
Raise the grain. Two. Before your final sand, wipe the wood with a damp cloth and let it dry. This raises the tiny fibers so you can knock them down now, instead of feeling them after the finish goes on.
Thin the first coat. Three. Thin your first coat of finish about half and half. A thin sealing coat soaks in, locks down the grain, and reveals any flaws while you can still fix them.

Full transcript

One, sand up through the grits in order and never skip one. Each grit removes the scratches left by the last. Jump from 80 to 220 and you just polish the deep scratches. Two, before your final sand wipe the wood with a damp cloth and let it dry. This raises the tiny fibers so you can knock them down now instead of feeling them after the finish goes on. Three, thin your first coat of finish about half and half. A thin ceiling coat soaks in, locks down the grain and reveals any flaws while you can still fix them.

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