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Sanding Steps in the Glazing Process
Question
Forum Responses
From contributor T: I generally try to make my second coat (or third coat, in your case) as smooth as possible, therefore, I don't have to sand it. My vinyl sealer doesn't like to flow out, so I thin and heat it on all coats. From contributor P: Don't sand. You want them as smooth as possible. We just completed a large glaze job and it looked great! From the original questioner: It seems that I am not getting a really flat finish off the gun without any sanding, though. Won't any discrepancies be highlighted with the glaze? I realize that sanding will cause its own discrepancies, but I was thinking that if I sand at a high enough grit, then scotchbrite that, the glaze won't pick that up. From contributor J: You might be able to find a high enough grit if you get into micron paper, but you are just making more work for yourself. Concentrate on getting a smooth finish off the gun on your last coat of sealer before glazing. Some retarder in that last coat may be in order to help combat the overspray and help it flow out better. From contributor R: I think a 400 grit is more than enough and if you wish to go up to 500 that is okay. Remember the sandpaper leaves small scratches that you can not see, and with the 500 grit you won't see the difference. From contributor E: Why are any of you glazing if you don't want the glaze to stick? Why not just do a light shade and make it look like glazing? Isn't glazing supposed to highlight areas of cut-throughs, depressions, and hang up in areas like corners and profiles? Also, I would really like to know how good is your adhesion if you don't sand between coats and put a glaze on? Glazing is a weak link if this is a concern.
From contributor I: He is going over white, so the scratch telegraph could be an issue. But the other tools leave their footprints as well - brushes, sheeting, cheesecloth and such. I almost always sand at 320, but am using the glaze as more of a contrast stain to pick up the pores and carving/turning details than using it to tone the surface overall. Mild scratches, brush smears, faint rag tracks and small spatter have always been "part of the look." We don't know what the goal is here though. From the original questioner: Thanks for all the replies. I tried a sample with my intended sanding schedule and it didn't work like I thought it would. I had a 2x3 section of plywood with the white vinyl on and left 1/3 as it was/off the gun, sanded 1/3 with 320, and the last 1/3 with 320, then 400, then a scotchbrite. The two I sanded definitely had a better sheen, but I had to remove more glaze overall to get the pigments out of the scratches, leaving the surface too white for the "dirty/antiqued" look I am trying to achieve. So that put me back at requiring a better off the gun finish as most of you recommended. I experimented with different thinning ratios (the instructions recommend a max of 10%) and was able to get it to lay down flat enough to be acceptable.
From contributor R: If I do an opaque finish, say an off white with a raw umber glaze, I try to get as smooth and as dust free off the gun finish as I can. I always apply the glaze over a clear coating, which I have applied over the opaque color. Sanding either the clear coat or the opaque coat would only allow the glaze to telegraph into the scratch pattern. After the glaze coat has been applied and manipulated to the look I'm after, I apply a clear coat over it. That binds the glaze to the coating underneath it and protects the glaze coat with the clear coating on top of it. I then proceed with my topcoats being careful not to exceed any mil thickness issues. So, for an opaque coating, we're looking at:
Keep in mind that it's not how much product you spray on, but how much you sand off. Would you like to add information to this article? Interested in writing or submitting an article? Have a question about this article? Have you reviewed the related Knowledge Base areas below? 
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