Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
Allright — it’s time to tackle the “should we sand” question. Mostly because we hear it so often from so many places! The quick and short is that for roughly 80% of our customers sanding isn’t needed. The 20% of the time you SHOULD sand is (1) when there is cracking and peeling on the surface underneath of (2) if the surface is shiny, slick, “new” and could use a quick scuff sand.
MudPaint is a far richer, thicker paint with far better adhesion and, since it adheres to almost anything we have only 20% of the time where sanding is absolutely required. Now – it can’t hurt to do a light “once-over” on just about any piece, but it is required on just about 20% of our customers projects.
If you do proceed ahead, you can also find that sanding will even out the surface so that you are starting with a smooth canvas. It helps to minimize wood grains. Sanding will remove scratches and nicks. It also helps to remove the cleaning supplies used and any dirt, grime, or grease that may be lingering.
A little sanding goes a long way and the time spent doing it is worth it — and it can smooth out your final finish before applying that finish coat or wax, if needed!