How to finish a piece of timber perfectly?

Hi im currently doing my HSC course for timber. An assessment task is coming up (i think its kind of pointless) and its about correct finishing techniques. What I have to do is collect a piece of timber given to me by my teacher, then sand it down through all of the grades, stain, wax it, rub it back, repeat etc.... This process has never worked out really well for me so if anyone could please give me some tips as to how i can increase the quality of the finished product that would be great

Ghostlysheet

Hi Ghostly.
I am not really qualified to help you with this one but I would have thought your teacher would have given you some infoprmation on types of stains and wax application etc .
Perhaps you could send a PM to Neil . the forums sponsor and owner of U beaut Polishes . Also Woodwould who is very knowlegable about finishes.

Can't help you with the waxing but the most common faults are in the sanding.
Sand with the grain. Any scratches made by going across the grain are difficult to remove and can show up in the final finishing.
Make sure you removed the marks from the previous sanding before starting on the next grade.
Don't press too hard and don't dub the edges over.
Clean the surface both during and between sandings. Make sure there is no build up on the paper either.
Dust is a killer on finishes. For a really good surface ready for waxing or whatever use a tack cloth to remove any remnants of dust.
Good luck,
Jim

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ghostlysheet

Hi im currently doing my HSC course for timber. An assessment task is coming up (i think its kind of pointless) and its about correct finishing techniques. What I have to do is collect a piece of timber given to me by my teacher, then sand it down through all of the grades, stain, wax it, rub it back, repeat etc.... This process has never worked out really well for me so if anyone could please give me some tips as to how i can increase the quality of the finished product that would be great

Ghostlysheet

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Remember to sand with the grain not across it and practice practice practice :o:C

And never give up on it.

To soften the reality of it, there are many which have many more years experience at it than you and they still struggle.

So just keep at it and all the best.


cheers


Steve

When sanding, I have a habit of using a damp cloth on the piece to remove dust and also get the grain to raise so I can knock the tops off when I re-sand the piece. I could just be deluding myself that it works, but so far so good, so I'll stick with it...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by q9

When sanding, I have a habit of using a damp cloth on the piece to remove dust and also get the grain to raise so I can knock the tops off when I re-sand the piece. I could just be deluding myself that it works, but so far so good, so I'll stick with it...

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It works and is especially useful if you are using machined planed wood where you get compressed fibres in bands.
Cheers,
Jim

Sanding the wood is very critical to make good quality finishing.
The sanding has to be done gradually with the coarser sandpaper grade to the finer.

The final sanding before the finishing process is usually is end up with # 240 or # 180 grade sandpaper.

But it is also depend on the wood type and the finishing you are gonna applied on.

You can visit this link to see more about the procedure of sanding the wood :

EDIT: Link removed by moderator.


Good luck

Cleanliness is paramount: Brush or wipe the dust off regulary and whack the abrasive side of the paper against the edge of the bench regularly to dislodge dust every five strokes or so.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ghostlysheet

Hi im currently doing my HSC course for timber. An assessment task is coming up (i think its kind of pointless) and its about correct finishing techniques. What I have to do is collect a piece of timber given to me by my teacher, then sand it down through all of the grades, stain, wax it, rub it back, repeat etc.... This process has never worked out really well for me so if anyone could please give me some tips as to how i can increase the quality of the finished product that would be great

Ghostlysheet

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It may help if we can find where the problem lies. Can you describe what steps you take and what the teacher has said in the past about your work? Also what type of timber, if known and what grades of paper are supplied for this exercise. Do you use a sanding block or just your hand to hold the paper, it all helps to find the problem. Also exactly what finish, how applied etc. Most probably the biggest problem is...do you enjoy it or hate the prospect of doing the exercise? If you hate it the natural inclination is to hurry and shortcut the steps necessary to make the project a success.

Hmmm. Perhaps this exercise is a prelude to the teacher's revealing the benefits of scraping, if not yet disclosed.

If the wood surface isn't too extensive, try scraping after the last episode of sanding - with the grain of course. A hand-held utility knife blade works almost as well as more expensive tools. Mirror smooth in most cases, sometimes reflective even before applying wax, etc.

Cheers,
Joe

Might I also add:

Patience?

and Time?

You did mention that it seems kind of pointless. This is true of much of schoolwork (much of life too) where you are only doing part of something and not seeing it as an element in a finished article. However, you are not just finishing a set piece of work to keep the teacher off your back, you are acquiring a skill and a discipline that will stand you in good stead in later life. If you can see furniture in a shop and think, "I could have finished it as well or better than that", you are there.
Cheers,
Jim

Can't believe I'm the first to suggest this:2tsup::2tsup:

My finishing improved dramatically after picking up a copy.

Thanks people for all of the advice. So far i have taken my time in sanding and i have used sand paper grades from 80,120,240,3?0,400,1200,1500 and 2000. The timber i am using is treated pine (a common, cheap construction material) its finishing quality will never be excellent. After running it through a thicknesser to take the bow out the top face i began sanding. I used 80 grit for about 20 mins to get rid of the roughness left by the thicknesser, then moved on to the 120 to make sure it was evenly sanded and there were no longer any scratches etc. Then i used putty to fill in some small anomalies in the timber. Left it to dry over night, began sanding steadily from 240 grit to 2000. The end product was nothing ive ever done before, it was completely smooth qnd reflective like glass. I was wondering if that was too much and if the laquer wont soak in?? Are there any problems with what i have done so far??.

Oh, and a side note. My teacher wont help me because this is supposed to he a test on our ability to gain and implement skills we have learnt now and in the past.

Also any tips & techniques on applying finishes, waxing etc would be extremely helpful, because the final step of finisbing is always my weak area. So yeah any help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers Ghostlysheet

I find a tack cloth very helpful removing the fine dust between sanding with higher grit papers. I think there is a recipe for making a tack rag/cloth in U-Beauts Finishers Handbook