Hand sanding or orbital sander for fine finishes? I just learned both ways.

Hand sanding gives more control, but the sander is quicker. Which do you trust for your best work?

2 comments

2 Comments

Yeah but what kind of project are we talking? I mean, for something with a lot of curves or weird angles, hand sanding is the only way to not mess up the shape. But if it's a big flat table top, starting with the orbital and then just doing a super light pass by hand at the end gets it done. Idk, I guess I don't totally trust either one by itself for my best stuff. Maybe it's just me but I always end up using both.

faithroberts2d ago

See your point, @ryanf66. Even with an orbital, you can still get those tiny swirl marks if you don't finish by hand. Mixing both methods just saves you from having to redo the whole thing later.