Just realized I was over-sanding my trim work

A guy at the lumber yard told me I was making more work for myself by sanding down to 220 grit on baseboards - said 120 is plenty for paint adhesion and saves an hour per room. Now I just knock off the rough bits and move on, has anyone else had a similar wakeup call?

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xena_fisher494mo ago

Gotta disagree here, 220 grit is worth the extra time if you're going for that glass-smooth finish. Paint will show every little scratch and imperfection, so if you cheap out on the sanding, you'll see it later. My buddy painted over 120 grit on some cabinet doors and the grain was still rough enough you could feel it with your fingers. Plus a lot of those higher-end paints need a finer surface to bond right, otherwise they peel weird after a few months. Sure it takes longer but I'd rather do it once and do it

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caleb_gibson4mo ago

Agree completely with you here. I had the same exact thing happen on a set of kitchen cabinets I did last year, used 120 grit and thought I was being clever saving time. Ended up with that same rough feel you're talking about, could actually see the scratch marks after the paint dried under the light. Had to sand it all down again and redo the whole thing, basically doubled my work. Definitely learned my lesson the hard way, 220 is just the way to go if you want it to actually look professional.

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