We used a prestain water-based conditioner on our oak doors. The container said to wait 24 hrs before staining so the wood now has 'hairs'. These doors will be sanded in upright position.
What recommendations to keeping dust at minimum do you have?
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2 Answers
What recommendations to keeping dust at minimum do you have?
You can sand with an assistant holding a vacuum to catch the dust, or simply sand solo and clean up afterwards.
Despite it sounding messier I would recommend the latter. Sanding off raised grain is minimal hand sanding, probably much less sanding than you're envisaging and using fairly fine paper, e.g. 280 or 320. There won't be much dust.
You will anyway have to do some cleanup afterwards as a running vacuum can't catch everything during a complex sanding job like this, plus there will inevitably be surface dust on the door, built up in recesses and corners as well as in the grain of the wood itself (oak is an open-grained wood, and the open grain traps sanding dust very effectively).
Things you didn't ask about that I feel I should include, for the benefit of future searchers.
"Conditioner"
There isn't a need to use "conditioner" on oak doors. Products sold as "pre-stain", "wood conditioner" and so forth are to prevent blotching in blotch-prone woods. Oak is not one of them.
These products also partially seal the surface, guaranteeing a lighter stain result which may be directly counter to the desired outcome.
Sanding doors specifically
It would be beneficial to look up a guide or two on sanding doors before tackling one for the first time. Doors built conventionally are complex, featuring numerous pieces of wood butting up against each other with grain running at right angles so there is a lot of potential for inadvertently creating cross-grain scratches. Such scratches may be hard to see on the bare wood, but are greatly highlighted by stain and stand out like a sore thumb:
You shouldn't introduce scratches this pronounced when sanding off raised grain, but only a few light scratches will still be made visible by the stain. Source: 10 Sanding Tips To Make Stain Look Great on Popular Woodworking.
Staining doors in situ
Staining a door vertically could require great care and possibly some gymnastics to ensure a good outcome. For anyone new to staining, I highly recommend you take doors off their hinges and stain them horizontally especially if using a fast-drying stain. Oil stains are more forgiving, as is "gel stain" (which is not a stain in the conventional sense).
Those hairs are raised grain. I'd sand from top to bottom with sandpaper in one hand and a rag in the other, wiping with the rag as I go. My preference would be to take the doors off their hinges but, if they are to be finished in place . . . After sanding, vacuum the floor near the door then use a different slightly damp rag to go over the door after sanding. After the final pass, wipe the floor around the door with that slightly damp rag.
If this door is over carpet, you are going to need to be sure there is protection AND don't let any part of the bottom of the door touch the carpet (or protective whatever) until the final coat of finish has been dry several hours.
