I was sanding cabinet doors wrong for three years until a client pointed it out

I was finishing a set of maple doors for a kitchen remodel, sanding with 120 grit then jumping right to 220. The client, an older guy who used to work in a shop, ran his hand over a door and said, 'Feels like a cat's tongue.' He asked if I skipped the 150 step. I realized I was creating tiny scratches the finer paper couldn't remove, making the finish look cloudy. What other small steps do people often skip that ruin the final look?

3 comments

3 Comments

olivia_webb3mo ago

My uncle never tapes trim before painting walls.

the_jenny3mo ago

Wait, is that a thing people actually do?

evanr792mo ago

Feels like a cat's tongue" is such a perfect way to put it. I used to think skipping grits just saved time, but it actually adds way more work fixing a bad finish later. That one comment would have saved me so much headache.