doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Oil-Finish Slurry Sanding Question

It's that time of year and I'm in the process of adding a dozen or so thin coats of oil to my gunstock. I've got about 5-6 coats on and I've done a round of wet sanding w/400 to fill the pores with slurry. I plan on doing a few more rounds of this, finishing up with 600.
The question is, should I alternate sanding directions with each round of slurry-sanding, or should I always sand in the direction of the grain? I thought I read somewhere that if you alternate the sanding directions between coats, the luster and depth of the finish is enhanced. Is this true or are the Turpentine fumes getting to me?
Thanks, Jim

I've done a good bit of sanded-in finishing and once you get to 400 and up I don't think it matters which direction you sand. What is important is that you sand every sq. in. properly. In my experience this requires that you do some cross-grain sanding in some areas, especially in heavily figured wood. I have never been able to detect any difference in the final finish in those areas as compared with the balance of the stock surface.

OB

Just my two cents. I have had good results by sanding a slurry with some rottenstone sprinkled in to make a thicker slurry. I sand in a circular motion and when the slurry starts to get real thick I use a motel room card (like a credit card but thinner and more plyable) and squeege it across the grain. Not with the grain as this tends to help pull the slurry out of the pores.
I let dry at leas 8 hours and sand back to the wood. I do this manufactured slurry at least four times before I look into the pores with a magnifing device(at least 10 power) and go on form there with stain, finish etc.

Regards, Gordon

Another finish method is to smear the finish by hand (NO SANDPAPER) when it get tacky then let dry and remove with 0000 steel wool.

Thanks guys for the responses (maybe it's the fumes).
Gordon, good to be reminded again to wipe against the grain to fill pores. Sounds like a good technique with squeegee-ing into the wood.
I have to say I have been quite pleased with my wet-sanding.
Did 2 rounds with 400 and did my first round with 600 tonight. Will finish with another round of 600 with a wipe down in a couple days.
Then six more thin coats/wipedowns. It already looks much better than it did before I started.
Plus it's been fun to do.
-Jim