Festool Rotex 125 + Walnut Door

[joesan]

I need to reapply the oil finish to an external door. The door is made of black American walnut and parts of it, mainly the bottom, have become very weathered and dried out and lost the oil finish.

Would love to hear some suggestions from you on the best finishing regime using the Rotex 125. I'd like recommendations such as speeds to use, sanding method and what progression and types of sanding disks I should use. Also should I sand the whole door or just the wearhered sections?

 

[joesan]

- No one has any tips?

 

[Alan m]

i would say start with 60-80 grit granite and go from there back to bare wood . then rubin or brilliant (granat if you want or if the wood is guming up the disk) up through the grits then re oil

 

[joesan]

Thanks Alan. What 3 or 4 grits would you recommend. I'll probably try the Rubin.

 

[Alan m]

it depends on how bad it is. id start with 80 and work up but if its really bad or the going is slow then go rougher.  then 120, 180 and 220

 

[Brice Burrell]

Thanks Alan. What 3 or 4 grits would you recommend. I'll probably try the Rubin.

I believe Alan was suggesting the Granat abrasive. I think that's a good choice since you'll need to remove the finish on the door.  Rubin is meant for bare wood so it would work well after all the finish is removed.  I'd start with 80grit Granat or maybe Brilliant to remove the finish, you may need to use a slower speed on the sander if the finish starts to gum up the abrasives sheets.  Then you could use either Granat, Brilliant or Rubin.  I generally use 80, 120, 150 and sometimes 180 grits to finish wood.