Finishing Stained Red Oak

I always like to pass a hand scraper over solid wood features like face frames, doors, etc. as a final step. They are sometime called a cabinet scraper, but the one I’m talking about is a thin piece of sheet metal about 2 to 3 inches wide and 5 inches or so long. That scrape or two will leave a beautiful stain ready finish.

-- david roberts, houston area, "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but that has never been a problem for me."

Gee – tough one.
if it’s verneer you might go and sand right through the verneer,,
If the scratches are too deep try a wax filler (Liebron or similar). These work really well.
Are the scratches straight cuts or circular.? Circular might be caused by wet stain or paint clogging in spots on your sand paped causing scrathes as you sand. Check for that.
If all fails then you might think of staining the units a darker color. And finnish off like that.
Sometimes we want it to look too perfect and see the blemishes and canyons when there are’nt any.
Things other people will never notice.
Hope my bit helps..

-- "Even small steps makes a distance." (Shawn Phillips, musician)

i know what your talking about i had the same problem with a project i did but i think its the sander try using a finnish sander and go through the grits up to 150 try it on a pc of scrap first cuz this is what im gonna try i have alot of white oak so i have to figure out something soon well keep me/ us posted please?

-- Ike, Big Daddies Woodshop,www.icombadaniels@yahoo.com

Presence of scratches usually means that you didn’t spend enough time on the rougher grits. I’d back it off to 80 grit and work back to 150.

-- jay, www.allaboutastro.com

I have been going around the clock on a similar problematic finish dilemma for three days now . If you are able to use a stripper try combing the grain straight as you remove the stripper with steel wool or wet and dry paper . Just one idea that has gotten me out of a jam before. Sounds like there may be other issues. Keep trying things !!

-- rob

Azor, one trick to determine when you have sanded enough is to lightly mark the piece (solid wood or plywood)with a # 2 pencil and then sand. When the pencil marks are gone then you can move on to the next higher grit.

If you are going to stain then you really do not need to sand any higher than 150 grit. Sanding to higher grits closes off the pores of the wood and reduces the amount of stain that the wood will absorb. This can be problematic for open pore woods like oak.

If you are not removing scratches during the sanding process they will show up when you apply the topcoat and are more prevalent with higher gloss finishes. Like David said using a scraper is an integral part of a good finishing process. Card scrapers will remove material faster than sand paper so starting with a scraper shortens the sanding process.

You should begin your sanding process with the lowest grit necessary to remove scratches and mill marks. If you have a sharp set of planer and jointer knives you may be able to start at 120 grit and progress to 150 grit for stained woods and up to 180 grit for woods with a natural finish. But if you have particularly deep scratches/mill marks as Jay said you may need to start with 80 grit, 100 grit, 120 grit and finally 150. The most important thing with regards to sanding is to not skip grits in an attempt to get the job done more quickly.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

Your final sanding, especially grainy woods like oak, should be with the grain, not orbital.

If you use a card scraper, you should also finish up with a 150 grit sand paper.
The card scraper might leave the surface too smooth for best staining.

-- Randy, Rustic Artisan, a family tradition. (No PM's - auto-deleted.) - "I am a seeker, not a follower."

A lot of good tips. Since I use the Todd Clippinger method of sharpening my card scraper I am reluctant to use a card scraper at this point. I did use mine before the sanding started. I forgot about the pencil trick and now have used it while re-sanding the doors which I did for a hour or two last night. I started with a orbital sander on the center of the door with a 150 grit disc then handed sanded the extremities at higher grits and then the center hand sanded at 150. I sanded the grain edges down to 400. So all that is cleaned off now and tonight I apply the stain and then when that dries the 1st coat of Arm-R-Seal. Then the moment of truth. Honestly, unless there are glaring marks I will probably go to 4 top coats followed by wax and rub and call it over with.

That said I am thinking of avoiding stained large projects in the future. The other part of that is getting back to a satin top coat which I could still do with the doors, but then they would not match the rest of the case. I’m a person who does things on a schedule and even though this is a personal project I don’t seem to have the patience for a lot of time in the finishing stage.

Thanks to all who responded, Dick

-- It isn't as easy as the demos make it seem.