leor37•13d ago

An old cabinetmaker told me to stop sanding between coats of polyurethane

I had always sanded with 220 grit between every coat because that is what I read online. This older guy named Frank watched me do it on a kitchen job and said I was wasting time and material. He told me to just use a tack cloth and let the first coat bond to the second without sanding unless there is a dust nib or a run. I tried it on my last set of bathroom vanities and it saved me about 45 minutes per piece. The finish came out just as smooth. Has anyone else dropped the sanding step between coats?

2 comments

2 Comments

beth_hunt13d ago

I read on a woodworking forum that Frank's advice is pretty common among old-timers who've done it for decades.

eva_lewis13d ago

Yeah that tracks lol. It's like how older home cooks will swear by certain tricks their grandparents taught them, even when there's a newer way to do it. There's just something about advice that's been passed down through decades that feels more trustworthy somehow.