Sanding - how much is enough?

[mik1947]

Question What is the finest grit you use to finish your work - painted and natural? Do you use sanding to shape the work (remove a lot of material) or just to smooth and finish it?

[Plain_Ol_Ed]

Do you use sanding to shape the work (remove a lot of material) or just to smooth and finish it?

Huh? Sanding, what's that?

[Hugh]

I use a cushion sander to do a lot of my final shaping. Starting with 80 Grit, 150, 220, and finally 350. Before the last sanding I spray with denatured alcohol to raise the grain. Also use magnification to help me see the scratches. Even with all of this, there are lots of imperfections left. The best sand paper for my use is the Swiss Paper, lasts longer and the grit is even. By the way, I'm carving birds with power carvers mostly, not caricature. Hope this helps.

[squbrigg]

Really depends on what you're carving. Some things you may not want to use sandpaper on at all, ie: a caracture. While others you may want a mirror finish, ie: a plaque that a carving sets on.

Hugh has the basics of it for you, start coarse and go progressively smaller in grit until you have the finish you want. One tip.....don't skip grits, it's a lot more work in the long run to fix the scratches if you do.

Good luck,

Bob

[Mark Gargac]

I sand the entire carving with 350 grit just to take off rough edges and soften the piece up some. Any skin areas like the face ,I pay special attention to and start with 250 then to 320 then to 400 then finish with 600 grit to where the wood is like almost polished. Clean all the grit off before finishing of coarse. This seems to work the best for me so far, it leaves the skin looking real soft and life -like I like to say it looks soft to the touch. This is after painting, oil ,and the other finishes I like to compleate a carving. For a more leatherly looking skin ,like for a wheathered Indian or Mtn. Man use a dark satin wax for the final finish and buff to a soft sheen. Depends on what your carving I guess ,hope this helps.

[Lightningbolt]

I use almost exclusively the basic 220 grit "fine" sand paper in combination with a piece of steel wool rated from #0000 (very fine) to #4 (course) on all of my woodspirt walking sticks and most other carvings also.

I really like the rough and natural look of a woodcarving and the individual knife cuts to show thru in the carving so I only use the sanding process to "enhance" that rough look, not to smooth it out of existence like the glass-like sheen finish on my mahogany computer desk.

After finishing the carving I will paint several layers of acrylics with sprayed coatings of sealer inbetween, then when that last layer is dry I will incorporate the light sanding "enhancement" effect into the carving, then apply the final coats of polyurethane. I've discovered that this light sanding really brings out the "WOW!" and "HOLY COW!" reaction that I love so much to hear my prospective customers say. This light sanding removes just enough paint from the "ridges" of my cuts to expose a little bit of wood which is one of the best highlighting and antiquing enhancements that I've ever discovered.

[mik1947]

Thumbs Up Thanks for sharing your experience and ideas! Your comments have helped me through basic preparation for what I think is the worse part of finishing a piece.

[Lightningbolt]

I'm not sure about finishing being the worst part of a carving project but I'd sure have to say that the quest for getting that "just right" completion can be just as challenging as is learning how to carve. Even after years of experience I still find myself in a constant state of experimentation and exploration and no matter how good I get there is always more to discover, so it is never ending.

No doubt about it, getting an agreeable finish can be quite ellusive. In all actuality (is that a word?) I sort of like it that way because I've discovered a lot of neat little tricks along the way to a satisfying finish which have made me a much better artist.

In my woodshop class I'll have so many students that will spend months putting the intricate details of their project together and then they'll want to put on a 10 minute finish. Kid's are the worlds worst to take on this mentality and when they do so in my class they're gonna crash into a wall, otherwise known as "me".

My advice is to make just as much a study of finishing as you do learning to carve and more often than not, you will begin to get more exceptional finishes than not. Limiting yourself to a "one-size fit's all" finishing mentality will rarely exceed the boundaries of mediocre and I'd like to think that I'm better than that.

Now, if I could just find a way to get that elusive perfect cup of coffee every single time that I've always been looking for!!!

[Bartster]

you mean you can sand a carving i have never heard of a sucha thing lololol

happy carving
bart

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

Yeh and who would want to? ha ha, I hate sanding! (and wearing hats with mice on them LOL)