Prepping Inside Window Sills


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Old 04-24-13, 03:16 PM
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Prepping Inside Window Sills

Hi,

I'm recaulking/repainting my inside window sills. I'm using a small electric sander to rough up the 18-year-old high gloss paint. This is a 5-inch diameter sander and I'm using 220 grit paper.

Sometimes the paper takes the paint right off leaving a noticeable edge between the old paint and the wood. Other times it leaves a nice, feathered edge between the old paint and the wood.

Not sure what to do - do I keep sanding until I get a feathered edge, or maybe change to 240 grit? How can I obtain a smooth feathered edge on the old paint?
 
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Old 04-24-13, 03:22 PM
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I would use a palm sander or a scraper instead of a rotary sander. Those are tricky to control, as you're discovering.
 
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Old 04-25-13, 03:42 AM
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Why 220 grit? 120-150 grit should be fine enough to sand the sills smooth. Is the paint oil base or latex? Latex enamels don't sand as well as their oil base counterpart.
 
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Old 04-25-13, 07:34 PM
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I tested it with alcohol and found that the paint has an oil-base.

120 seems to "pick up" the edge of the paint more than 240.
 
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Old 04-25-13, 08:40 PM
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"I'm using a small electric sander to rough up the 18-year-old high gloss paint."

If you're just trying to roughen the gloss, you don't really need an electric sander. Hand sanding with sharp paper or even course steel wool will do it.
 
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Old 04-26-13, 03:04 AM
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120 seems to "pick up" the edge of the paint more than 240
Have you tried sanding with 120 and then resanding with 180-220 grit as needed?
 
 

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