I am looking for suggestions on what to do on eliminating swirl marks in clear alder/maple (tight grain woods).
I am building a clear alder kitchen, and have all the face frames, fronts, and doors ready to sand and finish.
What I am having an issue with is all the swirl marks in the wood. I am using Rubin paper, 120 grit on a Festool ETS 150/3.
I went back to the Porter Cable Model 505 1/2 sheet sander with 3M 120 grit, and same results. Although prior to the dark stain they feel perfect.
The stain is Sherwin Williams BAC wiping stain. Recently we switched our stain samples out and no longer offer anything from Minwax. This new stain system is showing this problem where I never saw it with the Minwax.
I also used our old Dewalt and Bosch 5" ROS's with Lowes brand 120 grit, my Festool 90 with granat 120, and also the ETS 150/3 with Abranet 80/100/120, all having the same results; a swirl finish.
Am I being too critical working under LED lighting on the bench? I am wondering how to achieve a swirl free finish before proceeding, any help is greatly appreciated! There has got to be a solution to this. BTW, my pad on the ETS is in excellent condition.