How fine a sandpaper for white oak with the Rotex 150?

[Rick Caviglia]

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Hi,
I hope someone may give me some advice on this. I'm sanding some door trim that's milled from quarter sawn white oak. I'm going to stain it with an oil base stain and finish it with orange shellac to match the rest of the house. On the Festool sand paper guide it mentions to not go past P180 for staining because going finer could make it difficult for the stain to penetrate. I always thought you had to go to at least 220 grit for stain grade. Is the P180 designation for sandpaper different from the standard 180 grits at the store? Anyone have any knowledge on this?
Thanks
Rick

 

[nclemmons]

I think 180 should be fine. 

I just did a complete entertainment in QSRO and only sanded to 180 before finishing with a wiphin stain and it came out amazingly smooth.

In fact I also recently did a non-QS oak piece with an oil finish, and I sanded it to maybe 320 - I could not tell the difference in smoothness between the two to eye or touch.

neil

 

[mouppe]

Hi,

I agree with the Festool advice. Sand to 180 and then stain. When the stain has been fully absorbed you can add the shellac and continue the sanding process. The shellac will act as a barrier and the deep stain will remain in the pores.

Richard.

 

[tbellemare]

I can't argue with the advice above.

There is a difference in the grain size between CAMI and FEPA standards.

My understanding is that Festool uses FEPA standards.

I suspect that Big Orange or the Low Place have CAMI standard paper.

Tom

 

[Rick Caviglia]

Thanks for the quick response guys. I guess I'm ready for stain (which is fine by me since sanding is NOT my favorite activity). All this time I thought I needed finer sanding for stain grade. In fact a friend of mine suggested I needed to go beyond 400 (not what I wanted to hear).

 

[AlexThePalex]

If you're not sure of the end result, always test it out on a small piece first.