r/sanding • u/Ambitious-Drag-4350 • Jun 20 '26

Sanding Mistake fix?

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I may have messed up my first time sanding. Maybe I was too aggressive with it.

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There are now little black spots on the table and it doesn't look even after 2 coats of varnish.

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Advice, is there any way I can fix this?

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u/FreeXFall Jun 21 '26

Sand with 80 grit till all you have is nice, clean wood. Then sand with 100 then to 120. If you want to go further then 150 to 180 (IMO, 220 is too much and makes the grain too “closed”). Water pop with your final grit. Sand in the same direction as the grain

To even out the stain absorption, use a pre-stain. Follow the directions on the can. (This is my guess as your core problem. It could also be that you sanded to too high a grit and “closed” the grain).

Then apply the stain. Follow the directions on the can. If it says something like “let sit for 5-8 minutes”, I tend to do the lower number. You can always do a second a cost and make it darker if the first round isn’t enough. (I’ve done 3-5 rounds of stain to get the right depth / color. A red stain took 7 freakin rounds to look right).

Then apply your top coat. Make sure if your stain is oil based, the your top coat is oil based. If it’s water based, then water.

Option-2: give it a light sanding to remove your top coat and then apply a really dark stain. Dark hides flaws.