Hand sanding is better for delicate, antique, or detailed floors (like parquet) where preserving detail and minimising damage are key. Machine Sanding: Effective for robust, modern hardwood floors, especially those requiring significant levelling or repair.
Instead, trying sanding in one direction only, using long, even strokes. Back-and-forth motion is okay in the coarser grits, but you'll get better results sanding in only one direction with your finest grit.
While hand sanding has its merits, it's not without its downsides. For larger or rougher projects, hand sanding can be time-consuming and physically demanding. It may also result in inconsistent finishes due to human error.
While any form of sanding produces dust, hand sanding tends to generate less airborne dust compared to its mechanical counterpart.
Sanding motion: Pure linear motion. Application: Linear motion is ideal for sanding wood material along the grain. Note: Sanding with a linear motion along the grain does not damage wood fibres (important if the surface is to be oiled, waxed or coated with a thin layer of varnish afterwards, for example).
The Golden Rule of Sanding
The golden rule for choosing your sequence is to never skip more than 1 grit. For example, if you start with P80, and need to finish at P240, rather than using every grit from P80 – P220, you can do P80 – P120 – P180 – P240. This sequence cuts out P100, P150 and P220.
Don't push down, even the slightest bit. The weight of the tool and your hand is enough to get the results you want. In fact, pressing down can bog the motor, slowing down the process and harming the surface. Let the sandpaper do the work.
Even if you find sanding by hand laborious, you'll have to concede that it can deliver a better finish than using power tools. A power sander can leave scratches, and can't always manage the kind of fine-tuning around knots or fine mouldings which come naturally to practitioners of hand sanding.
Block Air Vents and Ducts
A little dust in the hallway is one thing; dust in the upstairs bedroom and kitchen is quite another. Cover any air vents in the room you're sanding with plastic sheeting and secure it with tape. You'll save yourself hours of dusting later.
Avoid sanding too fast, or too slowly.
However, like most things where quality and attention to detail are important, moving the sander at a controlled and even pace across the surface will lead to the best results.
Using the wrong grit sandpaper, exerting too much pressure, failing to keep the sander moving, ignoring dust collection, and skipping edges and corners are all mistakes that can result in uneven surfaces, damage, and poor results.
Type of Project: For intricate, artisanal projects or the restoration of antique flooring, hand sanding might be preferable. For modern, large-scale projects, machine sanding is likely more suitable.
Use an oscillating sander, not a random orbit. Even better, an oscillating sander with a flexible pad. And dust collection. A RO sander leavers the round over faceted instead of flowing.
If you don't remove all the sanding marks using a rotary buffer then you'll be left with a crosshatch pattern of sanding marks in the paint and these will tend to be easier to see than sanding marks all running in one direction. Don't sand in circles.
USE THE PENCIL TRICK
This method provides a measurable way to know when your board is flat and you're ready to move on to the next grit. Here's how it works: Scribble light pencil lines all over the surface you're sanding. Use a light touch — you don't want to jam pieces of graphite into the grain.
Don't press down on the sander very hard at all; only press down hard enough so that it stays flat on the surface. Pressing down too hard can cause those dreaded swirl marks, as well as cause unevenness in the wood.
Bosch ROS20VSC Random Orbital Sander
The ROS20VSC is comfortable, sands fast, and has the best dust collection of the corded sanders we tested.
Open doors and windows can let dust creep indoors. The best solution is to seal windows and doors or other cracks and crevices that are possible dust entryways. Dust also hides in cloth and clutter. Regularly washing carpets, textiles, and stuffed animals, as well as cleaning garages and attics, can go a long way.
Windows: It's essential to allow ventilation during sanding. However, to prevent dust from spreading outside or into other parts of your home, you can partially open the windows and cover the gaps with plastic sheeting.
The biggest difference is that a random orbit sander gives a smoother finish and is more versatile, while a palm sander is better for quick, rough sanding.
Sanding with the grain is the golden rule of woodworking, which means moving the sandpaper in the same direction as the wood grain. It helps to minimize visible scratches and results in a smoother, more professional-looking finish.
Even Pressure: Apply consistent, moderate pressure when sanding. Too much pressure can gouge the wood and wear out the sandpaper quickly, while too little pressure is ineffective. The weight of your hand is often sufficient. Keep Moving: Don't sand in one spot for too long, as this can create an uneven surface.
Sand Your Workpiece
When using a power sander, always sand parallel with the wood grain to avoid scratches. Keep moving the sander at all times so you don't leave any unwanted indentations.
Wet sanding is a sanding process that uses water or another liquid as lubrication to wash away grit particles. Without the liquid, the sandpaper can build up with material, causing scratches that ruin the finish. In general, the best liquid to use for most materials is water with a little bit of detergent in it.
If you apply pressure to one edge of the sanding surface, you will get swirl marks. The surface will also be uneven. The best way to prevent this is to grip low on the sander.