Wet Sanding help...

[ValeBliz]

1. Mineral spirits requires some ventilation, and is costlier by far than water. 
2. Some finishes will degrade with mineral spirits.
3. Habit, or preference for the feel of water vs. mineral spirits.

Point 2 is the only sound one imo, considering all the problems introduced by using water vs spirits.

 

[Audiowonderland]

Has anyone tried the 3m pads instead of paper for the final finishing/buff? I have been using the Maroon pad to prep the wood and and knock down the primer coats and that seems to work well. Better than paper in that it does not load up. I have never tried it on clear but lacquer is lacquer. I think I am going to try them on a test piece. I would still need to use paper for the highest grits but the sanding would be dry up to that point and I find the pads much easier to handle

7445 - White pad, called Light Duty Cleansing - 1000 grit
7448 - Light Grey, called Ultra Fine Hand - 600-800 grit.
6448 - Green, called Light Duty Hand Pad - 600 grit
7447 - Maroon pad, called General Purpose Hand - 320-400 grit
6444 - Brown pad, called Extra Duty Hand - 280-320  grit
7446 - Dark Grey pad, called Blending Pad -180-220 grit

 

[DuckBaloo]

I use finer "grit" pads than that list (and a good backing block), many will start wet sanding at 800, but step up through as high as 3200, then polish/buffing compounds when doing it all by hand.

A pro will use a high-speed arbor buffer, which gives a better final product while skipping more steps, but requires a lot of practice/experience to keep from burning through.

 

[Audiowonderland]

Would finer "grit" pads than that list (and a good backing block), many will start wet sanding at 800, but step up through as high as 3200, then polish/buffing compounds when doing it all by hand.

A pro will use a high-speed arbor buffer, which gives a better final product while skipping more steps, but requires a lot of practice/experience to keep from burning through.

I will be going to finer grits than that with paper but these pads are so much better to work with to get the lower grit work done.

 

[Dero08]

I tried wet sanding a recent build and totally screwed it up. I used mineral spirits with Mirka Aberlon discs, and burned through mu finish (only on the front, the back looked great). I’m not gonna do that again. I recently bought some Super Assilex and Buffex sanding sheets … so far the Super Assilex sheets are working great to level sand between coats.