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Hand sanding progression

So I started restore my first straights and a had a couple questions about hand sanding.

What progression do most of you use when hand sanding? I started with 150 because there was some pitting on the blades. From 150 should I go up to 180 or right to 220? Thanks.
 
You won't be removing any pitting starting at 150. Start at 80 if it has pitting.

80 to 150 will remove most of the major pitting that sanding can handle.

180 240 320 400 600 1000 1200 1500 2000 is what I use. Some use 80 to 120 for pitting in circular motions, I go to 150. It just worked for me.
 
Find something to wrap the paper in also, your fingers will thank you for it. A piece of scrap wood works great. I use a large rubber dowl.
 
Also be prepared to spend 10+ hours on this. Make sure you don't progress on your sand paper until you get all the scratches out from the previous grit.
 
I was planning on it taking a long time. I'm gonna try and do an hour or so a day.

After the 2000 grit what would I use to polish it up with?
 
Always use the least aggressive grits first. Otherwise you merely create a rough surface that has to be taken out with a host of higher grits. Without a pic, it's hard to tell what grit you should start with. For the most part, I will use 180 and go through the rest of the grits up to 1,000. If you want a mirror finish, then on to 1,500 and 2,000. Make sure you take out ALL the marks from the preceding grit before going on to the next one.

I use wooden dowels as well for sanding. Here is another method that works good for hand sanding.
 
Here are the pics of when I got them.

Boker
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Red Imp
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Wow, you must have done a lot of sanding!
I never really had the patience for hand sanding, so I got a buffer. It's quicker, but it has its own hurdles and learning curve
 
Wow, you must have done a lot of sanding!
I never really had the patience for hand sanding, so I got a buffer. It's quicker, but it has its own hurdles and learning curve

About 4 hours so far and countless more to go. I wish I had a buffer and a work bench for that matter (stupid, dumb, one bedroom apartment).
 

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
That's not so bad. I usually start with 600 and see from there...
 
Progressed up to 600 today. Starting to get shiny! I'll get some pics up tonight or tomorrow. I think I found a new hobby.
 
Well it looks like 600 is were I stop for now as the local ACE doesn't carry 800-1200. Here are some more pics.

Boker
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Red Imp
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Nice! amazing what hand sanding can do. I been working on doing some hand sanding on many of my straights I have. It has been fun, but a lot of work.
 
Looks great so far DR. One word of advice... watch the hard edges because you'll start losing dome of the definition (spine and tang) if you don't keep a flat surface.

Can't wait to see the end result. :thumbup1:
 
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