How can I sand old, weathered wood and retain the rough look?

Question

I am building a table top from weathered, reclaimed boards. The weathered wood has a ribbed feel if run your fingers across it. I want to retain some of that irregularity, but make it softer to the touch and minimize splinters. I have thought of hand sanding with sanding sponges or steel wool, but that will be a lot of work and I am hoping that there is a sanding tool that would get me most of the way there. I can imagine something that looks like a buffer for a car, but is rougher -- alas I can't find anything like that.
Thanks!

Answer 1

Hey there! You don't want to use a grinder or wire brush or 80 grit sandpaper. You will just mess up all that great wood. Please don't you the B&D "mouse"sander its a P.O.S. You'll want to get yourself an DeWalt Random Orbit sander there about 65 bucks at home depot. You should use like 120-150 grit sandpaper. That will smooth out all the rough spots and cut down on some of the splitiery spots. Now if you have major splinters just use some glue, i use Titebond 2, just squeeze a little under the splinter and put some yellow masking tape on it or maybe something heavy like a brick. It will dry in about an hour. Then do some final hand sanding with some 150 grit sand paper. I would use maybe an oil base finish or lacquer. Both avail. at home depot or your local hardware store. Some good brands are McClusky(oil), Helsmen(oil), Deft(lacquer) or if you have a Vista Paint store use Valspar also lacquer. After 1 coat some of the smaller spliters will lift. Give it a nice sanding with some 180 or 220 grit sand paper. If the splinters are bad enough take a razorblade and just cut them off. Continue with 2 to 3 more coats of the finish with sanding of 220 or 320grit sandpaper. Have fun. I hope this helps and not confuses you more.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

I would also recommend using a random orbital sander using a scuff pad it will smooth the surface well, but will not take away any of the rustic look it will require a little more sanding because it's not as rough as 150 grit sandpaper. I feel that is A good way to achieve the result you're looking for

Answer 4

Old Weathered Wood

Answer 5

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I have many different procedures that I use, depending on the look that I am going for. You can strongly round off the corners, to make them uneven. Distressing, by denting the surface with a heavy chain, can add some age. Scratching the surface, to simulate checking, or splitting also works. I use a wallboard saw and knife, to give the look of a deep crack, caused as the wood dries out. Awl holes simulate insect damage. There are also things you can do with paint. I have stained wood, then painted it (barn red, maybe), then painted it, again with a contrasting color. When I age the piece, I sand through one or both layers of paint, to give the look of something really old. Black or dark brown glazes add a great feeling of being time-worn. I then finish with a low sheen clear top coat.

Answer 6

Sand with a random orbital sander using 60-80 grit paper. Sand till you reach the desired effect. Once you reach the desired color of the wood your working with then rub back and forth with a wire brush with the grain until you reach the desired texture in the grain. The harder you brush with the wire brush the deeper the texture of the grain. Being that this wood is probably a soft wood you will want to use wood conditioner before staining.

Answer 7

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Answer 8

prop4u is correct. You can use an electric drill with a wire wheel chucked in it to speed up the job.

I have TONS of old weathered boards that I don't know what to do with. I will probably advertise all of it for free firewood this coming fall. What a shame.

Answer 9

The best tool to sand wood is Festool.Is kind of expensive but works.Try to put water based finish on it.If you want to make it contemporary look or old scrape the table with scraper after sanding old varnish/stain.will works.

Answer 10

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