Quote:
Originally Posted by Instrument 41
My last house I used Water Lox on the butcher block counter tops. I didn't want a glossy finish but more a satin finish. This will be the same for the bathroom using Black Oak. In the previous house it was sanded for me and smooth enough, this go round its all me. Thats why the questions about sanders. I will have it put through a planner but concerned about the live edge in doing that. The slabs are 2" thick and my total space is 24 x 72. The Water Lox I used was there standard formula then followed up with a Satin finish. After 2 years of doing nothing to the surface it still looked awesome and that butcher block was tough as nails.
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The live edge won't be an issue with the surface planner as you will be planning the face of the wood not the edge. You will loose some of your 2" thickness but a surface planner is infinitely adjustable so you can plane off 1/64" or less. Rather than plane in one pass set the planner to the bare minimum it will cut and make two or three passes until you are satisfied with the surface. Your slab may have already been planned but without a photo no way of telling for sure. You may be looking at chatter or feeder marks. If that's the case no need to replane just sand out the marks.
A decent sander for a DIY project or home handyman is a Porter Cable random orbit sander. If the slab isn't already installed and you can sand the entire surface this will be the only sander you need. If it is installed and you need to get into corners or around fixtures a Black & Decker mouse will work just fine.
Some have suggested using a belt sander your slab. If it has been run through a planner the sander isn't necessary as it will already be flat. You are just looking to take out the working marks and refine the surface for finish. Further if you do not have any experience with a belt sander I would suggest you stay away form it until you have had some practice. You can ruin your slab in a New York second if you don't know what you are doing.
The bureau and locker doors below were sanded with the Porter Cable and the B&D Mouse to 220 before top coating. My wife who had never picked up a sander in her life did all the sanding. The doors currently have six coats of varnish. The bureau has four. Both will finish somewhere around ten coast. I apply two coast roughly four hours apart. Let dry twenty four to forty eight hours. Sand flat with 220 then scotchbrite with a gray 3M finishing pad before applying the next two coats.
Edit: If you need to practice or test samples such as stains/finishes use the bottom of the slab.
