Whenever operating any power sander, engage
and disengage the machine from the material being sanded while the belt or
disk is still in motion to avoid gouging the wood.
Wrap a padding material around a stick or dowel, then wrap sandpaper over
it to use on inward curves.
When sanding wood, seal any heating and air-conditioning ducts and
electrical outlets with plastic sheets and/or duct tape. Wood dust can
ignite.
Sandpapers
Sandpapers run from very coarse (20 to 40 grits per inch) all the way up
to the very fine (1200 grits per inch). The materials range from garnet to
aluminium oxide and silicon carbide.
Garnet is for hand sanding clean wood.
Aluminium Oxide is fast and longer lasting when power sanding
wood. It can also be used on plastics and fibreglass and for polishing
stainless steel, high carbon steel, or bronze.
Emery Cloth and Wet & Dry This is another option for metal
polishing.
Steel Wool is available in #3 coarse to #0000, which is very fine.
Generally, you will want to start with a coarse paper (provided it does
not scratch) and work to a fine paper for the smoothest finish. Whenever
possible, sand with the grain.
