Wetting boards between sanding?

I’ve done it when using water based stains and dyes. Otherwise I don’t remember doing it much.

as loren said only when using water based products which i rarely do.

-- working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.

If your finish will be nitro lacquer, it’s pretty standard to use a “damp” cloth to raise the fibers and cut them off by sanding prior to spraying. No experience with other finishes but works great for guitars!

-- Darrel

Also helps with shellac, which also raises the grain, although I rarely bother. Instead I sand back the first 2 coats.

-- Rick M, http://thewoodknack.blogspot.com/

Thanks for the information.

I know people do it, but IMO there is no advantage of wetting prior to using a water based dye or stain.

-- Everything is a prototype thats why its one of a kind!!

If you wait until you apply your first film coat, then smooth it…..it locks the fibers in place and you’re good to go.

-- Our village hasn't lost it's idiot, he was elected to congress.

If I want a smoother finish, I raise the grain, doesn’t matter what kind of finish. I like to raise the grain whenever doing water or alcohol based finishes. I also only raise the grain up to 180 or 220. Rarely do I go beyond that, and definitely not prior to staining.

When doing oil finishes, I will sand in the first coat a lot of the time to fill in the pores. But, that’;s a whole different thing.

-- John F. SoCal transplant, chewer uppper of good wood

I use a spray bottle with water and set it out in the sun to dry. I do it with almost every project. Seems to work well for me.