Wet sanding the edges of panels completely flat is crucial; but it can also be a little scary. Here are a few tips:
- Don’t be scared. Be careful, yes, but I would say, the more scared you are, the higher the chance of sanding through the edge.
- Use a hard block. An acrylic sanding block is an absolute must. The sanding block cannot roll over the edge, at all. I like using a 1/4” thick block most of the time, but if there’s some shape right next to the edge, the next thickest block can be used, which is 1/8” thick.
- Use aggressive sand paper. I never use anything finer than 600 grit to sand the edge flat. Sometimes if the paint is really built up on the edge, you can knock the majority of it down with 400 grit.
- The more aggressive paper, the faster and cleaner it will cut the paint down. This means less of a chance of sanding through.
- Try as hard as you can to sand only the built up paint on the edge, holding the block as flat as possible with the panel. Once it’s flat, then start sanding the rest of the paint next to it.
- Wrap the paper as tight as you can around the sanding block. This keeps it from dragging on the corner.
- Use dry guide coat. This isn’t necessary, but it can definitely help give you a visual of what’s being sanded. Dry guide coat barely sticks to un-sanded paint, so you can start blocking the paint a little bit, then dry it off and guide coat it. You’ll be able to watch the edge come down, and you’ll see if you are actually staying off of the surrounding paint.
- Don’t be scared! Just sand it! But pay a lot of attention to exactly what you are doing.
