Effects of abrasive mineral, grit size and feed speed on the quality of sanded surfaces of sugar maple wood

Sanding is a common practice required in order to prepare wood surfaces for coating. Little literature is available regarding the effect of sanding parameters on the quality of surfaces. Sugar maple wood surfaces were evaluated in samples that had been sanded using two types of abrasive minerals, three grit sizes and four feed speeds. Roughness, wetting properties and cell damage were used to assess surface quality. Both abrasives decreased roughness and cell damage from 100- to 120-grit sanding stage. Addition of a 150-grit stage did not further reduce the roughness, whereas the cell damage continued to decrease. Increasing feed speed led to rougher surfaces due to higher fibrillation. Surfaces produced by silicon carbide were smoother and less damaged than those obtained with aluminum oxide. However, the surfaces sanded with aluminum oxide were more wettable and showed no significant difference in wetting time as a function of grit size. For these surfaces, the wetting time was reduced as feed speed increased.