Sanding inside corners is not as easy as you do for other areas. The limited accessibility gives you restricted scopes to sand them comfortably.
Your regular sanders and oversized sanding block may not fit perfectly in those inner corners. You need to use the right tools and techniques to get the job done.
Can You Sand Inside Corner?
Yes, you can sand inside corners by using the correct equipment and following the right approach. You may need to use compact and special tools to get the job done.
In order to protect your fingers from blister issues and free from dust, wrap up a sheet of bandage on your fingers. Also, wear a good quality dust mask to prevent sanding debris from getting inside your nose.
Why Do You Need To Sand Inside Corner?
Don’t you want to leave an unbalanced finish on the wood surface? Obviously not! The primary reason to sand inside corners is to give matched appearance like other areas of the wood.
It is more important if you sand an entirely new wood piece. These inner tight spaces may have glue, gouges, dips, stains, scratches, and many other things.
You won’t get a perfect finish unless you remove these unwanted things from the wood surface. So, sanding is crucial to achieving a well-distributed wood finish.
What Type Of Sander To Use For Sanding Corners?
You can sand inside corners manually using your hands. Or, sanding hard-to-reach areas using electrical sanders is also possible. But knowing the correct technique is essential.
Sanding Through a Piece of Wood
A large piece of wood won’t fit conveniently inside a wood corner. Reshaping the wood piece based on the corner’s angle and position will make it compatible.
Then, cut the sandpaper based on the wood size and stick it on the wood surface appropriately. This handy tool allows you to sand these tight spots more conveniently.
If your wood panels are large enough, enter a putty knife, you can stick sandpaper and use it for sanding the corner areas.
Compact Power Sanders
Some compact oscillating power sanders come with additional triangular ends. These special kits are purposely designed for inner corners and various tight spots.
Cut the sandpaper in a triangular shape and attach it to the sander kit. In some cases, you can shape a wood piece to fit the triangular end of the sander.
How To Sand Inside Rounded Corners
Sanding inside rounded corners is similar to other areas. You just need to grab the right tools and sandpaper to complete the job. Here is the step-by-step guideline for tight sand spots.
Step: 1— Choosing the Right Tool and Sandpaper Grit
At first, you need to decide whether you want to sand manually or use a compatible sander. A detail sander appears the best choice to get the job done smoothly.
Then, select a number of sandpaper grits based on the surface’s roughness. If it is not too much rough, you don’t need too high-rated grit.
Step: 2— Using A Handy LED Light
Compared to other areas, inner corners have less visibility. In order to monitor the sanding task continuously, an LED light comes handy to see everything clearly.
You can use a clamp light or utility light to get flexible illumination for your jobs. Plus, they offer excellent color rendering and a sharper focus to see everything precisely.
Step: 3— Starting the Sanding Session
Start the sanding session with lower grit sandpaper and move the higher grit gradually. Make sure to mark the area using a pencil to avoid sanding already treated areas.
When working with higher grits, be cautious and don’t put extra pressure. Otherwise, it will add additional scratches. Take time to complete the sanding session. Don’t rush!
Step: 4— Removing Sanding Residues
Since you are working in rounded corners and tight spots, getting off the sanding residues between sanding is crucial.
Otherwise, they will ruin the entire surface with different depths of scratches. Plus, finish one corner fully and then move to the next one.
Step: 5— Cleaning the Sanded Corners
After cleaning the sanding substances between sanding, use a slightly wet fresh fabric to clean the sanded corners. Let it dry for a few minutes.
This will allow you to see the actual finish of the sanded item. Hence, you can easily decide whether you should go for additional sanding or don’t need to sand anymore.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Yes, you can use an oscillating tool to sand corners if it comes with additional triangular ends. Alternatively, you can make a triangular-shaped wood piece based on its size and attach it to the sander end area.
Then attach stick sandpaper by cutting them based on the wood piece size.
The best sanding mistakes is over-sanding the inside corners or putting extra pressure that leads to damaging the nearby areas.
Also, a few people fail to choose the right grit size. After all, you may need to use different grit sandpaper for the actual surface and corner areas.
Final Thought
When it comes to sanding inside corners, you need to be a little bit more cautious for effective sanding. For manual sanding, you must know how to use your hands in different directions.
Besides, choosing the correct grit size and sanding tool is more important. After all, they will affect the overall results of your sanding.
I am Imtiaj Islam. I am a wood working enthusiast, having 6 years of experience in carpentry work. I have a BBA graduate degree from Chittagong College. I got vocational training on wood works from Korean Polytechnic out of the quest and zest he has for carpentry as well. I take several wood projects and keep testing different woodworking tools for comfortable and perfect work. I just love playing with woods and machines.