Molding must be sanded to prepare it for paint or stain
Crown molding adds a decorative touch to rooms by softening the hard joint between the walls an ceiling of a room. Most crown molding is made of wood, and must be sanded in order to properly take stains and paints. While sanding the molding is not complicated, there is more to it than simply rubbing a random piece of sandpaper against it.
Instructions
1. Cut a piece of 80-grit sandpaper to fit your sanding block. The 80-grit sandpaper is very coarse and will remove any texture left behind by routers and other milling tools used to create the molding.
2. Crown molding should be sanded lengthwise, with the grain.
Clamp the sandpaper into the sanding block to sand flat surfaces. This will be much easier on your hands than simply holding the sandpaper and rubbing it against the wood. Sand with smooth, even strokes, following the grain of the wood as much as possible. Change the sandpaper often.
3. Wrap the sandpaper around a section of foam pipe insulation or pool noodle, to more easily sand curved areas. This will allow more even pressure to the entire surface than is possible when sanding by hand.
4. Wrap the sandpaper around putty knives and screwdrivers to access small nooks and crannies.
5. Switch to 120-grit sandpaper once the entire surface has been sanded with 80-grit. Sand the entire surface again to begin refining and polishing the surface.
6. Repeat the above steps, using 180-grit sandpaper.
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