Sanding Lacquer With Steel Wool

This age old two step technique is commonly used on shellac and lacquer finishes but it can work well on water and oilbased polyurethane too.

Sanding lacquer with steel wool.

In my experience assuming the finish is dry there isn t a difference other than the coarseness of the sand paper or steel wool. The steel wool buffing process is fairly straightforward. Synthetic steel wool creates an even silky smooth finish that s a joy to look at and feel. Sanding removes defects and levels ridges.

Here s a process for achieving a high satin or semi gloss rubbed sheen on a lacquer coating. You can stop at 600 grit if you intend to rub with steel wool or with pumice. Then rub with 0000 steel wool or with pumice and a mineral oil lubricant using a felt or cloth pad. The leveled finish is then further abraded with a fine grade 4 0 steel wool to leave a finer and slightly different scratch pattern thus raising the sheen.

What steel wool are you using. The steel wool is very fine and will actually scrape off a very fine layer leaving a silky smooth finish often referred to as a hand rubbed finish. But you will usually get better results if you sand to 1000 grit first. Liberon makes the best steel wool and it isn t too expensive maybe a few dollars more than what they sell at a big box store.

With the staining completed apply a light coat of lacquer to the entire project. Use medium to heavy pressure and try to keep the pressure and the direction of your strokes as consistent as possible. Using steel wood to polish wood might seem out of place and actually harmful to the surface of the wood but it isn t if done properly. The main advantage of using steel wool rather than sandpaper is that the steel wool can compress to almost any shape so it can be used much more easily in hard to reach places as well as on complex shapes such as.

Apply the lacquer finish. Steel wool can be used instead of fine sandpaper for many sanding jobs. 0000 steel wool should be equivalent to 400 600 grit sand paper. Sanding sealer is varnish or lacquer with a soap like lubricant included.

If you want a higher gloss sand up to 2000 grit p2000 or higher and then rub with rottenstone and a mineral oil lubricant. The very fine strands of steel gently cut into the surface being sanded removing an ultra thin layer. If you re going for a satin finish rubbing out with 0000 steel wool should work. Sanding sealer powders when sanded.

It s worthwhile buying a quality steel wool. Using steel wool or sand paper allows you to create a uniform surface for the next coat of polyurethane which generally looks nicer more professionally etc. After carefully wiping off the sanding dust or residue with a damp cloth rub the entire finished surface with steel wool and lubricant in the direction of the grain.