How much sanding.

[clowman]

I am making a couple of bookcases for a friend. The cases are made of 3/4 cabinet grade plywood. I have cut some poplar for the face framing to cover the edges of the plywood. I have some saw marks on some of the poplar facing. What I want to know is how much sanding should I attempt to do? I'm tempted to sand them all off, some are pretty bad. They plan on painting the whole thing white. They plan on 2 coats of primer, followed by the color of their choice. Would I be wasting my time to sand those marks off? I just don't want those burn marks to "show" through the paint. Any words of wisdom here? Please..

[b4man]

I've been on the left coast all week and just got home. Boy did I miss ya'll!

Anyway, Clay I have to tell you that most of the regret in my life has been what I didn't do, not what I did. Sand it, I think you'll feel better!
Barbara

[DaveO]

Clay, if you are going to paint them, and you can't feel any irregularity on the surface where the saw marks are. Then a good primer, I like Kilz, and a few coats of a quality paint will cover the marks. If you can feel them, then I would suggest that you sand a little more till you can't. Or if you haven't assembled the case yet, a very light pass across the jointer would be faster than sanding. My .02, Dave

[ZMan]

Or a couple of passes with your hand scraper should remove the saw marks and burn marks. For me, that would be easier than sanding, especially if you're going to paint.
IMO
Z

[McRabbet]

A third option, especially if they're all the same thickness, would be to run them together through your planer side-by-side. On my DeWalt DW732, I do that, taking off a scant 1/64" at a time and I'm sure they'll come out sweet. Unlike the jointer or sander, this will assure that they are all the same thickness. After you've attached them to the bookcase plywood, smooth the edges with some 220 grit sand paper by hand, tack cloth them and do your finish as DaveO suggested. Kilz is a great sanding sealer and primer for painted finishes.

[D L Ames]

Clay, if you have already assembled the banding to the edge of the plywood then I would recommend going with the cabinet scraper as Zman pointed out. If you have not attached them yet, then go the planer route as McRabbet suggested. I guess this qualifies more as a "double ditto" or a "what they said" than it does "my $.02

D L

For a total of $.14, here's my input.

Make sure it is smooth to the touch. Paint will exaggerate the saw marks if they are not smooth. I have learned this through my own painful experiences. Like one of the others said, the regret is in what you don't do more than what you do.

[clowman]

Thanks for the suggestions. I haven't assembled yet, I'll probally not be able to plant/joint them cause I have the already cut to the width they need to be. I'll sand them with smooth, and scrape anything I can't get out. I'll feel better not seeing those burn marks. After looking at the facing again, I think there's only 1 piece that is badly burned, the rest are a-ok.

[McRabbet]

Originally Posted by clowman

Thanks for the suggestions. I haven't assembled yet, I'll probally not be able to plant/joint them cause I have the already cut to the width they need to be. I'll sand them with smooth, and scrape anything I can't get out. I'll feel better not seeing those burn marks. After looking at the facing again, I think there's only 1 piece that is badly burned, the rest are a-ok.

Even if they are cut to length and width, if the "burned" side is the thickness and is facing front, then try the planer technique -- just be sure that side is up and only take off 1/64" at a time....

[clowman]

My burned mark is not in the thickness.. it's in the width.