Old contractor told me to stop sanding between coats of polyurethane

I was out on a deck refinishing job over on Maple Street last month and a retired contractor walked by. He watched me sanding between coats of floor poly and told me I was wasting my time. He said for oil-based poly you should just wipe it down with a tack cloth and let the next coat bond chemically. I tried it on the last two coats and the finish came out way smoother with less dust nibs. Has anyone else stopped sanding between coats and seen better results?

3 comments

3 Comments

margaret_lane1mo ago

Yeah I gave up sanding between coats a few years ago and never looked back. The chemical bond is plenty strong enough with oil based poly and you avoid all those fine scratches that can show up later. Plus it just takes way less time and you get a cleaner finish without all the dust from sanding.

riley5951mo ago

Man I used to be the guy who sanded between every single coat no matter what, but I tried skipping it on a table project after reading this and honestly the difference was wild. No more fighting with dust nibs and the final finish actually looked better, not worse like I always assumed it would. Definitely changed my mind on the whole process.

nina8341mo ago

Spent YEARS sanding between every coat like it was a religious ritual, only to find out I was basically polishing my way to a worse finish. Now I just slap on a thick coat and walk away, and my projects come out looking way better than they ever did when I was obsessing over every tiny dust speck. I still catch myself reaching for the sandpaper sometimes, old habits die HARD. But then I remember all those hours I wasted and I just pour another whiskey instead.