Had a pro come by the house and give me an estimate for sanding the mahogany porch flooring. He said he would just oil it, no sanding as the sanding would leave it less porous, I think he was referring to Mahogany specifically, not all woods. I know it soaked up the recent rainfall like a sponge, dry now.
What do you guys think?
Replies
I think he's full of it. One would think that sanding wood would make is more porous if anything. You know... sanding removes finish that seals the surface. I'm a pro furniture fabricator and I've never heard such nonsense. Talk to another guy.
Well there is a certain truth in what he says.If he uses some wornout 220 it will fill the pores with fine dust and the heat generated by the wornout paper will seal the surface..
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Maybe I am nuts but finer sanded wood seems to take stain to a lesser degree.
Maybe I am nuts but finer sanded wood seems to take stain to a lesser degree.
Your right. The more you sand with higher grits, you tighten the grains. Mostly we sand to what, 220? Go further and it is harder to stain. Notice how it gets much smoother as you sand through the grits?
I may not have explained it like they could over at knots but it appears this way to me.......
“Some people wonder all their lives if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem.” Reagan....
Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor. -Truman Capote
Tell the floor guy you want to make the floor less porous...but on both the top and bottom of the floor boards...so you want him to sand the bottom of all the boards too. ;o)
we could start a new business, sand the floors so much that no additional water proofing is needed. Need to invent something for the underside.
Why in the world would one want the wood to be porous? And please don't provide the answer "so that the oil will soak in." One could sand mahogany up to 400 grit and it would still accept a penetrating oil finish. And to a flooring guy, a fine sand paper is 120 grit. Gimme a break, there may be many good reasons not to sand an existing floor, but making it less porous isn't among them.
Most deck finishes require you to wash the surface with specialized prep products. These can remove old finishes or prepare new lumber for the coating. There is no need to sand.
Check out some of the products and the proper procedures on this site. Once you choose a product, follow the manufacturers directions, don't go on hear say.
http://www.opwdecks.com
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
We don't generally sand exterior decks for oiling them.
But I see no good reasoning in his presentation and can't agree with him.
We simply don't need to sand to try and make a smooth as silk deck surface outside.
Sometimes we touch it up id there are scrapes, dirt, etc, but a new one is usually ready to oil the day we finish nailing it off
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he said the same thing, why sand it since its outdoors. I thought that it was necessary since it was a "used" deck, bought it from someone who had it for a year and was switching to trex. the stair steps are brand new, planned on just oiling them.
On another note, I went to the penofin website, lots of choices. Were you referring to one in particular? The marine product seemed the most durable, 1/2 the coverage per gallon though.
Dog-gone, I didn't know they had so many
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I've only used mahogany (Honduras Mahogany....not Luaun) in boats and in some small furniture projects when I was in High school.
My experience with mahogany is that it's a porous wood by nature and to put a fine finish on it, it has to be filled. On boat trim and decks it was taking a bright finish (varnish), and the porousness didn't matter so much.
But on furniture, the pores look like he!l if they're not filled and I imagine a floor would be the same if a fine finish is desired.
Sanding should have little to do with it if the dust is cleaned up like it should be anyway on a floor.
This is an exterior porch floor, doesn't have to look perfect. In fact I want it to look a little rustic. I've thought about letting it go silver grey, no finish at all, but I don't want to be rebuilding it in 5 years. Rough enviroment on an island.