I have been sanding on my woody for 2 days, in an effort to get a suitable surface for another coat of Varnish. The first coats were put on 3 years ago, quickly, usually just before midnight, and with a cheap throw-away brush. Many loose brush bristles and runs were the result of this hurried brushed on finish. Now I have spent a lot of time, hand sanding, and only late this evening, did I finally get smart and give my random orbital sander a try.
Wow, what a labor saving tool. I thought that it would leave sanding swirls in the existing finish, but to my surprise, it did a fine job, removing runs and brush hairs with no scratches at all. Now, why didn't I know about this before? My experience with spinner sanders, years ago left deep sanding marks, and I thought hand sanding was the only answer. So, if any of you older, less informed woodworkers, (like me) didn't know that this tool would do such a nice job.........well now you know. I sure wish I knew about this sooner, it would have saved a lot of time and sore fingers.
Just thought others might want to know. Now, it is ready for another coat of spar varnish prior to the trip to Sweetwater, this coming weekend.
Roly, hoping that the rain Gods favor us again this year.