I'll just sand it once more and go over it quickly with the stain. I don't want to buy more crap for this POS table that was given to me.
Thanks for your input. All I could find at Wal-Mart was 220. I think it'll do the job
I'd shoot for #0000 steel wool rather than sand paper. And if you apply another coat, use a foam brush with really slow strokes.
I finished a nude table once and ran into the same issue with the brush putting out air bubbles as I went along. After the first coat, I steel wooled it and applied the second coat. I didn't use the stain/clear all-in-one though.
You want a higher grit that will take off very little material. 220 should be ok but go very lightly. The roughness you are feeling is from the wood fibers expanding (raising) when you applied the stain. The rougher the paper you use, the more likely you will need to add another coat. Then when you add the next coat, the new fibers exposed when you sanded it will swell again.
Steel wool or something higher then 220 would be your best bet.
BTW, after you do initial sanding, but before you stain, you need to make sure you get all the dust off the wood before staining. The best way to do that is to use a vacuum with the brush attachment. Using a shop brush or rag is ok, but you are then leaving that material in the air, floor, etc, and it could fly back up into the wet stain.
Chili and others provided good advice. A little finer sand paper would be better and honestly it's why I bought into a decent orbital sander. I got tired of having to redo things since I was hand sanding with too coarse or paper, and sometimes screwing it up.
I usually vacuum the hell out of stuff, and then gently go over with tack/cheese cloth to get all the finer stuff up. The stain prep stuff is also very helpful for large areas.
Originally posted by MR EDD
U defend him who use's racial slurs like hes drinking water.
Comment