60 or 80 til you get rid of that tearout. Then 120, 180, 220 and stain if youre going to poly. Continue to 320 if you're going to use an oil finish. Don't go up the grits until you get rid of the scratch marks from the previous grit. Sand with the grain as much as possible. Answer from Sevulturus on reddit.com
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Reddit
reddit.com โ€บ r/woodworking โ€บ what grit sandpaper before staining?
r/woodworking on Reddit: What grit sandpaper before staining?
October 7, 2020 - 220 is where you should normally end up before staining/finishing. If you really care about the project, you should buy some tack cloths and try to pick up as much sawdust as possible before you do any staining/finishing.
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General Finishes
generalfinishes.com โ€บ home
What grit should I use for prep sanding raw wood? | General Finishes
March 9, 2023 - The most critical part of finishing ... surface. Use the following sanding sequences for new wood: For wood that is going to be painted, use 120-grit, followed by 150-grit....
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General Finishes
generalfinishes.com โ€บ home
How to Prep Wood For Stain: Sanding, Cleaning & Color Selection | General Finishes
February 22, 2024 - The grades of sandpaper used most for furniture finishing fall in the fine and very fine categories - that is from 120 grit through 220 grit; with 320, 400 and 600 grit used for special purposes. For "hard to stain" woods, finish sanding with 120 grit will usually accommodate the problem.
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Realwood
realwood.furniture โ€บ prep-sanding-virginia-furniture-store
Prep & Sanding | Bare Woods Furniture Store | Finished & Unfinished Furniture
For finish sanding on most furniture hardwoods (e.g. cherry and mahogany) use 180- or 220-grit sandpaper. The use of grits up to 600 is not standard practice. Usually you will have to make a concession either to surface smoothness or to color acceptance. Factory-sanded furniture still requires ...
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Adirondack Woodshed
adirondackwoodshed.com โ€บ finishing โ€บ prep-sanding
Prep & Sanding | Adirondack Woodshed
The grades of sandpaper used most for furniture finishing fall in the fine and very fine categories-that is from 120 grit through 220 grit; with 320, 400 and 600 grit used for special purposes.
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Little House of Four
littlehouseoffour.com โ€บ 2021 โ€บ 09 โ€บ how--to-sand-wood-furniture.html
Furniture Sanding 101: How to Sand Wood Furniture | Little House of Four - Creating a beautiful home, one thrifty project at a time.
MEDIUM: 80-150 grit sandpaper. Medium grit is great for general sanding and removing old paint or stain. FINE: 180-220 grit sandpaper. Ideal for scuffing up furniture before painting and smoothing out a woods finish
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FineWoodworking
finewoodworking.com โ€บ home โ€บ forum โ€บ final sandpaper grit size
Final sandpaper grit size - FineWoodworking
November 19, 2019 - I would sand by hand up to 400 before stain if I were to do this from scratch. I would sand the center first (per grit), which will go against the grain on the edge, and then sand the edge carefully. You could try to tape the center with bluetape to minimize cross grain sanding the inner surface ...
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Woodweb
woodweb.com โ€บ cgi-bin โ€บ forums โ€บ finishing.pl
sanding gritt before dye/wiping stai - WOODWEB's Finishing Forum
5/22/20 #7: sanding gritt before dye/wiping sta ... For stain grade wood I suggest from 120 to 180 grit if you're using a wiping stain. The more coarse the grit, the more wiping stain color "development" and less wood color. Be mindful of opacity vs clarity. The more fine the grit, the more ...
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The Craftsman Blog
thecraftsmanblog.com โ€บ home โ€บ how to: stain wood
How To: Stain Wood - The Craftsman Blog
June 17, 2020 - No matter what the condition of the wood it will likely need sanding first. Start with a 60-grit sandpaper to strip everything bare and then work up to an 80-grit paper and eventually finish with a 120-grit paper.
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Norton Abrasives
nortonabrasives.com โ€บ en-us โ€บ resources โ€บ expertise โ€บ bare-wood-sanding
Bare Wood Sanding | Norton Abrasives | US and Canada
Should you choose to hand sand, youโ€™ll want to follow the same general process of starting with coarse grit sandpaper or sponge (80 grit is a good place to start) and moving through the grit range until you reach the desired level of smoothness.
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FineWoodworking
finewoodworking.com โ€บ home โ€บ forum โ€บ sanding furniture to what grit?
Sanding furniture to what grit? - FineWoodworking
November 10, 2019 - Worked it back up to 320 and it's looking great. Excluding whatever you do in the finishing after that, I would say 320 is more than enough. I echo ChipSawdust's comments regarding wood type here. The grain is obviously important to consider. I still can't see anything REALLY benefiting from ...
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Woodworking Talk
woodworkingtalk.com โ€บ home โ€บ forums โ€บ shop talk โ€บ wood finishing
Sanding to 180 grit -vs- 220 grit | Woodworking Talk
Normally I sand all my projects to 220 grit before staining. My question is whether I can still get a very smooth finish with 6 wipe on top coats each of which will be sanded to 220 grit between top coats.
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Quora
quora.com โ€บ How-many-times-should-you-sand-wood-before-staining-it
How many times should you sand wood before staining it? - Quora
Answer: 3 times in my opinion for most projects. The first pass is a coarser grit, generally around 120 grit. The second pass is 180 grit and the final path is 220/240 grit. If I want a glass type finish I will do a fourth pass with 400 grit.
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eQualle Sandpaper
equalle.com โ€บ grit guides โ€บ how to sand wood furniture before staining (80, 120, 180, 240 grit guide)
How to Sand Wood Furniture Before Staining (80, 120, 180, 240 Grit Gui โ€” eQualle Sandpaper
August 25, 2025 - Sanding removes these flaws while opening the pores of the wood to accept stain evenly. Skipping grits or stopping too coarse can leave scratches visible under stain. Sandpaper sheets (80โ€“240 grit) โ€“ versatile and easy to control.
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Sawmill Creek
sawmillcreek.org โ€บ forums โ€บ woodworking topics โ€บ general woodworking and power tools
Sandpaper grits | Sawmill Creek Woodworking Community
August 23, 2004 - Apply another coat, dry and sand with 400 grit. If your using gloss you can always dull the clear finish by using some 0000 steel wool. If you use a flat or semi-gloss finish, you can't get it any shinnier by polishing or rubbing it out due to the flattening agents in the finish.
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Market House Restorations
markethouserestorations.com โ€บ tuesdaytips โ€บ 2018 โ€บ 12 โ€บ 7 โ€บ bm8k11gb0sk0mi5vrizngzcb07i41d
The Difference Between Sandpaper Grits for Painting Furniture โ€” Market House Restorations
February 23, 2021 - 100 โ€“ 150 gives the paint and/or stain enough to grip onto, without making the piece too smooth or too rough. When I am painting or staining a piece, I make sure not to go over 150 grit.
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Quora
quora.com โ€บ What-type-of-sandpaper-is-recommended-for-painting-wood-furniture
What type of sandpaper is recommended for painting wood furniture? - Quora
Answer (1 of 2): If no paint is on it but maybe a clear coat in poly or varnish, you will want to start around a 120 grit. As you expose bare wood, slowly progress to 400 grit. Prior to staining use steel wool triple 00. Slow speed sheet sanders ...
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Quora
quora.com โ€บ What-is-the-recommended-grit-for-wood-finishing
What is the recommended grit for wood finishing? - Quora
Answer (1 of 2): To take wood to the appropriate smoothness for finishing depends on the type of wood and the type of finish desired. You may use scrapers exclusively to get a fine surface for finishing. Or you may go through a succession of sandpaper grits. Depending on the type of wood and the ...