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The most critical part of finishing a piece of furniture happens before you open a can of stain or paint - it starts with the sanding. Sanding is critical to creating a smooth surface. Use the following sanding sequences for new wood:

PAINT

For wood that is going to be painted, use 120-grit, followed by 150-grit.

It is normal to see a bit of stain on the brush when applying the first coat of topcoat. Topcoats often pull a bit of color on the first pass, but good preparation will minimize this.

To prepare open grains woods such as raw Oak for a water-based stain, we recommend sanding with 180-grit followed by no more than 220-grit sandpaper.

It's a wrap! General Finishes next round of tutorial videos are on their way! We will be releasing one per week for the month of November so stay tuned.

General Finishes Enduro Sanding Sealer

There are four benefits to using sanding sealer as the first seal coat prior to topcoat

Vinyl or paper veneers can be often found on the end returns of lower price-point cabinets. We cannot guarantee that our paints will adhere well to a paper veneer - we have no idea what the actual material is or what adhesives were used to apply the veneer to the surface. The resins and additives in our paints may break down the adhesives used for the veneer.

And Milk Paint does NOT adhere to vinyl.

Although both items are labeled as 220-grit, the pads are softer with a less aggressive scratch pattern.

With use, a 220-grit pad will soften very quickly to the equivalent of 400-grit sandpaper - making used pads ideal for finish sanding between layers of topcoat or prep sanding an EXISTING finish.

220-grit sandpaper is too aggressive for finish sanding but works well for the final round of prep sanding of open-grained raw wood such as Cherry, Pine, Maple, Birch, or Alder.

Brushable White Enamel can be applied to raw wood or existing finishes. When applying over an existing finish, be sure to prep your surface properly.

Learn how to properly prep existing finishes by watching this video.

Begin with the end in mind

Wood finishing is fun and easy. Don't rush through finishing a piece of furniture as if it is a race. Imagine how it will look finished in your home in living color. Set up a good prep area. Turn on some tunes. Get creative and enjoy the journey.

Our recommendation to fix white cabinets that have yellowed is to do a thorough sanding and precleaning and recoat with the following products:

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