Dust

I am learning that adequate dust removal is absolutely necessary for a nice finish. And that it is very difficult to get all the dust from sanding off of the items. I thought vacuuming and a wiping with a tack cloth would be enough, but it really is not.

I am using ZAR quick drying oil polyurethane in a satin finish. The polyurethane over the stain on the beadboard really looks terrible if there is stain residue or sanding dust around. What I found was necessary is to vacuum, tack cloth, then go over everything again with a cloth dampened with mineral spirits. What a huge difference it makes. Also, I found sanding with 400 grit gator wet/dry sandpaper between coats of poly works very well- it knocks down imperfections without scratching or removing too much and adding to even more dust issues. Just have to be super careful to remove every speck of dust.

Also for cleaning up the sanding dust from painting, a water dampened cloth really helps. The smallest bit of dust just gets huge when paint or poly goes over it. Drives me crazy, but now that I figured out how super careful I need to be, I can deal with it.