▼ *IMPORTANT DETAILS ABOUT VIDEO:* ▼ ISOtunes is a small, family company in Indiana that makes Bluetooth hearing protection for the shop, yard and everywhere else. (Support a small business and save 10% when you use this link, or the discount code: STUMPY) shop.isotunes.com/stumpy #ISOtunes #ISOtunesSport @isotunes @isotunessport Also, Check out the NEW "Big Eye Rip Fence" at Harvey Woodworking Machinery: www.harveywoodworking.com/ *TUTORIALS ABOUT SANDING AND FINISHING:* - Comprehensive sanding tutorial: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-qDYPGgjQmF4.html - The interesting history of sandpaper: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-6vR22qkddlY.html - Random Orbital Sander tips: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-0uvX4Xm2Y0I.html - Using oil-based poly: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-7uoZSWof2DM.html - Using wipe-on poly: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-sOSUyTbk56Q.htmlsi=vchQRusmQ1JfKX_q *Some other useful links:* -Check out our project plans: stumpynubs.com/product-category/plans/ -Instagram: instagram.com/stumpynubs/ -Twitter: twitter.com/StumpyNubs ★SOME OF MY FAVORITE INEXPENSIVE TOOLS★ - #ISOtunes Hearing Protection (Save 10%): bit.ly/3BHYdH7 -123 Blocks: lddy.no/vpij -Mechanical Pencils: amzn.to/2PA7bwK -Lumber pencil: amzn.to/2QtwZjv -Pocket Measuring Tape: amzn.to/2kNTlI9 -Nut/Bolt/Screw Gauge: amzn.to/2CuvxSK -Self-Centering Bits: amzn.to/2xs71UW -Steel Ruler: lddy.no/10mv7 -Center-Finding Ruler: lddy.no/10nak -Bit & Blade Cleaner: amzn.to/2TfvEOI -Narex Chisels: lddy.no/sqm3 -Mini Pull Saw: amzn.to/2UEHBz6 -Shinwa Rulers: lddy.no/zl13 -BOW Featherboards: amzn.to/430ldhv (If you use one of the affiliate links above, we may receive a small commission)
@@donovanmccoy6833 We used 220 grit aluminum oxide paper for most projects. We only used 400 grit when "needed". We also sprayed all top coats. And found 3 layers of top coat was the maximum we used. Unless something went really wrong. So the differences are minor.
@@adams8407 Gotcha. Makes sense. Yeah pretty close for sure. Cool well this is all great info. It's very frustrating knowing there's amazing feeling wood under a rough finish haha.
Finishing. The final step in a project and the most time consuming. It requires the most diligence to achieve perfection. Your sanding tips should help to reach perfection. Thank you for sharing. Have a great day and stay safe.🙂🙂
When doing the final rub down of a oil based finish, I use the paper rags/towels that I used to apply the earlier coats of finish. I always lay them out on my concrete floor to dry without starting a fire. By the time I use them, they are mostly cured and they get about as stiff as a brown paper bag, and they work just as well.
I’ve used the brown paper bag final rub over for years and one of the reasons I use my favourite supermarket is because they have the very best brown paper bags.
This brings back memories of refinishing gunstocks the old-fashioned way - a procedure then called "whiskering." The name comes from the fact that wood fibers are not parallel to one another, but rather somewhat crossing each other. As a result, when you sand even a perfectly flat surface along the grain, some fibers will have been oriented at an angle to the surface, and thus the ends will be "cut on a bias" - that is, leaving the end in a scoop-like shape, tapering to a point. It's these points that curl up when finish is applied, and form "whiskers" standing up from the surface that roughen the final result. The old-timers would take a damp cloth and rub it over the sanded wood to raise these whiskers, and then sand them off when dry - lightly, so as not to make more whiskers. Then a second dampening, a third, etc. - with a light sanding between each - until no more whiskers arise when dampened. It could take a dozen repetitions or more to finally smooth the surface. Then the first coat of thinned finish is applied, which - although the surface will be much smoother than it would have been when it dries - will also raise a few whiskers. We used to hand-rub the varnish into the wood to apply more pressure and force it more deeply into the grain, so that would help to find any new whiskers. But these will be few, and be easily cut off after the finish dries by softly polishing with fine steel wool, followed by cleanup with a tack cloth. Subsequent coats - of thinned, and thus rapidly-drying, finish - will serve mostly to fill in dips in the grain as the wood becomes impregnated with finish and the wood fibers are bonded together by the hardening finish. Final smoothness was achieved by buffing with fine pumice dust. The whole process used to take about a week, but resulted in a glass-smooth and highly waterproof finish that was stable in varying humidity and nearly immune to warping. I refinished my uncle's .22 single shot, given to me when I was about 8 years old, and the finish is still smooth as silk, over 70 years later.
Thank you very much for your finishing tips James! I have two upcoming furniture projects that I will definitely use these tips for. I believe your advice is second to none! Thank you for your time and sharing your wisdom. 😊😊😊😊😊❤❤❤❤❤
ISOtunes are the best noise canceling earbuds I've ever used I have a lawn care business and my large mowers are very loud and I have tried all brands. The noise canceling is so good I don't have to have the music very loud at all.
My Dad was blind. But he never let it stop him. As he taught me through the years, MUCH, if not MOST of what he taught me was to FEEL more than see what we were doing. From wrench sizes to sanding and even the quality of cuts, I learned to FEEL more than see what I was doing. The back of your hand can tell you ALOT more than a calloused palm.
Well done James, as usual. Although I've seen all your sanding videos, it would be nice to put them all together in a compilation - providing entertaining, continuity. James :-)
I like woodworking, conceptually. It's an ancient, mastered craft - But also, it's wood! It's not too hard to get into; it's easy enough to cut and work with, unlike say, metals & blacksmithing. I've never truly worked with wood in any fanciful way, but one day in the far future, I hope to make my own desk. (As utilitarian as it'd probably end up being!)
A wee tip for sanding. Use wet/dry sandpaper and soapy water (dish soap is good) or any liquid soap. You will a smoother result and your sandpaper will last longer because it clogs up less.
My Dad used to make custom cabinet back when I was young. We used cardboard for the last "sanding/polishing" step, so very similar to the brown paper trick... I guess I can see one or the other being useful depending on the situation...
About the only thing I have done that is any different than here is to really water down my first coat of poly with metho. I'm a novice woodworker but anecdotally a 50/50 mix of poly and metho has worked well for me.
3:58 Being new to finishing, I bought a "cheap" (probably overpaid, given the type of wood) pine slab from a big box store just to practice on. While I did flatten it successfully with my router sled, and I did BEAUTIFULLY fill in natural imperfections with a fast setting resin (meant for exactly that purpose) and sanded it crazy smooth, the poly process was not great. I tried applying with a foam brush first, but after seeing some videos (including Stumpy!) about wipe on poly and how to make your own, I tried that. I must not be sanding very well between coats because I'm getting some de-lamination...
I'm retired now but back in the early 1980s I worked with an old man. We built custom kitchen cabinets and repaired and refinished furniture too. He taught me a LOT. Stubby, the information you gave is great, but There is something you didn't mention about prepping the finnish material. It's important. I'll use applying Polyurethane as an example. People get in a hurry, so slow down. If you stir the polyurethane to fast, you will get Air bubbles in it. If this happens don't even try to use it for now. Let it sit at least one day or until the air bubbles are gone. Air bubbles in the liquid Finnish are nothing but trouble. Try stirring the polyurethane several days ahead of using it if possible. Next. If applying by paint brush or rag, Only wipe over the wood surface ONCE for each coat. If you wipe over more than once it can cause AIR BUBBLES. Dried air bubbles make the surface ROUGH. Takes lost of sanding to get that roughness out and sometimes you have to strip the finnish material you applied off and start over, if you want it right. After the Last coat is applied, smooth and good and Dried, We used 4 oooo steel wool with LIQUID GOLD furniture polish to make the surface like a mirror. Rub lightly one section at a time. Gently Wipe off excess polish. Hope this helps. .
I literally never have this issue, mostly because I'd rather spend a ton of time now than deal with something I don't like. If they touch it, their finger will squeek on it. Thinned staining/BLOing, BLOing, leaving it to stand, then thinned poly, and then building, sanding, building, sanding, and the poly gets gradually thinned as I approach 2000, at which point either I'm finishing it polishing, or just wet sanding and wiping with spirits. Mirror reflections, squeeky, straight up plastic all over
Isn’t the issue with the first coat sometimes air bubbles from porous wood such as red oak? That seems to be one thing I experience with roughness in the first coat.
Anyone know how to make polyurethane bumpy? I’m coating a bathtub platform and want the poly to be anti-slip. I contacted the Rustoleum company and they have no product to mix with polyurethane to make it bumpy with little stipples. Any tried-and-true suggestions? Thanks!!
I have more problems with fine bubbles, no matter how I apply or how thin a coat, they seem to magically appear. I have tobdo the same thing .. keep sanding them out. Wish they wouldn't appear at all. Any tips on that ?
Okay, that's it, the polyurethane wood finishing final state-of-the-art. Centuries from now, they will still be calling it the last word (if there's any wood left to finish). It could be argued that nobody's wood should ever feel that good.
These are great tips, unless your wood working skill level is on that of a half-blind, 90-year-old carpenter with altzheimers. Jokes aside, I had great results with 240 grit sanding between coates and using a really thick water-based clear PU. The packaging says it's for floors and stairs and my wood drill bit has a really hard time with it.
I read that a cabinet maker uses Harbor Freight table saw blades. He said that he got just as good results as he did with his more expensive blades. Have you ever tried these blades? The blade he used was the Hercules brand. Just wondering if you have tried them.
Denatured Alcohol? So you do not live in California. Our nanny state law makers have banned that stuff here. The only thing left in the paint area of hardware is acetone based products. And they would have banned that to if they did not need it themselves for doing their nails.
New “professional” woodworkers don’t have any need for this information. They all, and I mean ALL use Rubio’s Monocoat or some other version. Each and every one of them doesn’t care about the cost or and they certainly don’t care to learn about other finishes. They all use the easiest and most foolproof method they can because the finished product makes them believe they are “professionals”. Somehow word spread and now they couldn’t tell you how to dissolve flakes to save their lives. But they still believe they are pros.
It's interesting how you have an attentive audience while when I explain these things to people I get a blank stare followed by a "yeah no I'm sure it'll be alright if I do it the quicker way". Are you preaching to the choir or are any of you viewers convertites?
You're not the first to recommend a brown paper bag as a final smoothing step, but your affirmation of that process lends a lot of credence to it. Great video, thanks for the upload
That brown paper bag trick is gold. My wife bought some unfinished drumsticks for our son about 10 years back and he was complaining that they were rough - I brought out a lunch bag and rubbed the sticks down for maybe 20 seconds and they felt like silk when I was done. It blew their minds!
I do small projects and have a dusty basement and refinish small furniture as well. I have found out that I have been able to get a smooth finish with extra work using 50/50 home made wipe on poly. Drys fast and paper between coats. 9 to 10 coats. Satin usually gives a sheen after 6 coats. The sanding pretty much same as Stumbs does , up to 320 grit. Mineral spirits to clean surface after sanding. So far so good really good results. Cool video my man.
The brown paper bag at the end works really well . Sometimes I’ll even use the back of the old sandpaper you’ve gone through on the project. often it’ll have similar material as the brown bag and you can get double use from it .
I worked at a custom door and trim finishing shop and the owner told me that a piece of notebook paper is basically the finest sandpaper. I was skeptical at first but after feeling how smooth it made the finished product, I was convinced! I’ve been using it at the end of all my projects and people are amazed when I tell them I used a piece of paper to get that smooth finish.
I also had a shop teacher that advised steel wool on the final coat. I refinished a childhood dresser that way about 30 years ago and it's still holding up well today
Fantastic video. My biggest problem in learning to get a good finish was that I was too cheap and didn't change sandpaper as often as needed. Keep the videos coming.
You can buy a tack cloth to remove the dust, I have found that plain old water on a rag works just fine and saves you money. Do NOT soak the rag, just a little damp is what you need for this first coat as James aka Stumpy said in this video. That way your projects will come out silky smooth and if you do not have 320 grit sandpaper, 380 or even 400 will work, just make sure you feel the work surface to make sure there are no bumps on it, otherwise you will hate how it comes out in the end if even one bump gets through. Trust me, I learned this the hard way.
No matter the subject: you finish this video and at the very least you know why things you have been doing worked, but more likely there are bits you have missed until now
Great how-to finish process for polyurethane finish. I've used polyurethane on projects many times for many years. A great tip for using a paper bag is brilliant! One thing you may want to consider for the final finish. You can apply paste wax using a white 3m pad or fine steel wool then buff.
After the base of your cat tree comes out perfect, the cats wont use the scratch pole until you hot glue 2x $0.50 ikea carpet floor mats over your work.
Good video. I do a little similar. When I use poly for higher traffic surfaces, I cut it 50/50 with mineral spirits with all coats. It dries faster and picks up less dust. After the final coat is cured, I typically add a coat of paste wax applied with 0000 steel wool and buff when hazed over. It has not failed me to leave a silky finish to the touch. For surfaces that should not receive a lot of wear, I still like and prefer hand rubbed/applied oil finishes. I still add the paste wax as a final smoothing for a nice feel. Before I get hit with comments, I understand that there are some finishes that should not be paste waxed in the event another cost may be needed at a future date. In short, I DO consider the final use of the finished surface. I'll also add that my comments are my preferences, and I am NOT a professional finisher by any stretch. Well, except in my mind. lol Thanks.
I found that using paper, rather than a sponge, led to scratches from where the paper was folded. Just that little bend caused it to go deeper than the rest of the paper. Every little imprefection in the paper, a crease from a fold or the edge of the paper, was enough to scratch it.
Negative ion generators cause dust to pull to adjacent surfaces and not hang in the air. It creates a horrible black mess around it but will prevent dust in the air of your workshop.
Didn't see anyone in the comments mention Aqua Coat, not sponsored but, very easy to apply after stain before poly, made my project look like it had a sheet of glass on it. And I used a can of wipe on poly for my finish. Seriously try it you won't regret it!
This is why I use a mixture of carnauba wax, bees wax, and vegetable turpentine (Not mineral!) on all wood projects where people will put their hands on it. Particularly turned items, and disc golf trophies. The process is not fast, and it is not cheap, but the finish is incredible and it polishes crazily.
Years ago, i refinished hardwood floors in a bungalow house. Somehow one of the coats became all wrinkly where the windows were.😵💫 Needless to say, I was very pissed by this and had to resand the finish smooth and reapply a new coat. It was made harder by the fact that I mixed 2 finishes and couldn't recall the proportion of semi-gloss and gloss poly.😮
Any tips for removing small bubbles from 6th coat of water-based (oil modified... Minwax thing?) poly? No bubbles in previous coats. Did that many coats to cover previous dry looking spots. Last coat worked for that problem, but now bubbles.
Here's the trick . Especially with Waterborne . 1st pass is sprayed at .5 mils . Not 1.0 , not .75 . .5 ! What ? Example 4 cabinet doors in a spary horse . Complete first pass edges and faces . By the time you have completed . The first piece should have " Flashed Off" . 2nd pass 3.5 mils . Grain raise is directly effected by " Volume" of water . Stop drowning the first pass ! This method can be used in almost all finishes . The sanding isn't about smooth ! That's what the Top coat , Final Coat , Finish Coat are for . Notice what thay are . When sanding , don't SCRUB !! The objective is to remove the Gloss . Not achive smooth . Sanding flat surfaces should always be done with a perfectly flattened block . And most importantly . The drying time isn't paid for or charged . No project is completed till it's Finished ! So never let a Customer , Contractor , Engineer , Designer , Foremen , Supervisor push for something they ain't paying for !
Hi. Thank you for these videos. I had never worked with wood until 2 months ago when I started refinishing my kitchen cabinet doors and some cabinet boxes about 2 months ago. I used a chemical stripper for the doors and some base cabinet areas. I am now in the sanding stage..... I had watched your sanding videos several times before my first ever sanding experience and remembered your advice as I worked on my project- it was so helpful as I felt completely on my own doing something I had never done before....I have started scribbling on the wood before I sand .... I am back here to ask a question. For the cabinet doors, I have already sanded them with a power sander at 120 grit and am not sure whether the progression should be 120 grit power sander, then 150 grit power sander and lastly 150 grit by hand sanding? OR should it be 120 grit power sander and then just 150 grit hand sander? I am not sure whether its worth doing the 150 grit twice - once using the power sander and then doing the same grit by hand and wanted to get some advice. I will be using the Arm R Seal and the GF website says to go up to 150 grit before applying the Arm R Seal. ( Been using the Festool rectangular 1/4 sheet sander with the mesh sandpaper , CT15 dust extractor and the Festool hand sanding block that also hooksup to the dust extractor) . Thanks a ton once again for these videos- I have been referring to them throughout this project-
when using Tung oil, (the petroleum distillate kind) if I want a really beautiful finish, I apply 3 coats normally, (wiping off excess before it is dry) maybe sanding a bit between coats. But the final coat, (4th or 5th) I sand while the finish is wet! This will make a beautiful gloss. You will have to use a pretty fine paper, 400 or 500. Tung oil is reasonably water resistant, certainly not as much so as Polyurethane, BUT the beauty is it looks nicer AND it is easy at any date later to touch up. Poly is not.
“We look with our hands as much as with our eyes” My Kindergarten teacher would disagree. She always said “We look with our eyes” when I was “looking” with my hands ;) Edited for spelling.
