Sanding between coats of poly?

[Luckbox72]

In the past I have used steel wool 000 for sanding between coats of oil based poly. But if I am to use water based poly sould I still use steel wool? Also if I have wet dry sandpaper 6000 grit, coult that be used between coats or is that to fine a grit?

 

[dancam]

I would suggest the synthetic sanding (Scotch type) pads medium /fine. The 6000 grit is way too fine for between coats. It could be used for wet sanding a final coat but should use 1200-3000 before 6000.

Dan C.

 

[Travis Porter]

I do not use steel wool on WB poly as you are likely to get rust.

I agree with Dan ,6000 grit is way too fine. The scotchbrite type pads or some 320 grit sandpaper should work well.

 

[ErnieM]

I generally don't use steel wool or synthetic pads between coats - at least until the finish is as flat and blemish free as I want it. Steel wool doesn't really lessen blemishes, it just hides them from view. To eliminate blemishes, fill small pores, eliminate brush strokes etc. you have to sand them out. Sanding is much more effective than steel wool but is much more dangerous. It depends on the quality of finish you're trying to achieve.

I totally agree with what others have said: 6000 grit for between coat sanding won't accomplish much except getting you tired. Even when rubbing out the final coat, you'd have to work your way up through the grits to 6000 and that's a lot of work. Assuming you're going for a shiny gloss finish I would stop at 2000 and switch to automobile compounds. Since I don't use water base finishes, I don't know how well they work on these finishes (or if they work at all), but on oil base and lacquer they work great. At any rate, I wouldn't use steel wool on water base finishes unless you're going for the old, rusty look.

Ernie

 

[Gregory Paolini]

Ditto on the red scotch brite pads. When I wet sand a finish, I'm either using a red pad, or 400 grit wet dry paper.

Keep in mind, my highest sheen finish is satin.

 

[Luckbox72]

Cool thanks for the help, I wasn't sure what the grit levels were equivalent to the steel wool ratings, and I found some 1000 and 6000 wet dry paper in my garage, not sure why I bought it in the first place.