Do you have to sand between coats when painting wood?



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I'm ready to put polycrylic on some painted wood. The directions say to lightly sand with very fine sandpaper between coats. Why? What if I don't? Will it look horrible? I've been "working" (mostly in my mind) on this little project for way too long and I want to get it done! Sanding will slow things down.

11 answers
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Carole on May 30, 2016
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William on May 30, 2016
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9530106 on May 30, 2016
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Jennie Lee on May 30, 2016
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Marie Menz on May 31, 2016
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Cornelia Schott on May 31, 2016
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Diana Deiley on Jun 02, 2016
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Louise on Jul 02, 2016
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Jane Slater on May 07, 2017
I painted a table and put a java brown wipe-off glaze to give it an old color. It looked great. So I go to spray it with poly acrylic to protect and follow the directions to sand with 220 grit lightly....grrrrr.....it started removing my glaze and leaving scratch marks. So I wiped with tack cloth, waited the appropriate time and then sprayed another coat. The scratches in the glaze still show. I am so upset -- to get this far into a project, follow the directions and then have the project messed up. Next time I will use wax.Helpful Reply -
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Barbara Baldwin on Jun 24, 2017
Matte. Not glossHelpful Reply -
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Ana Bacallao on Jun 24, 2017
I did and wiped down completely before applying polyacrylic. I did not use spray but brushed on.Helpful Reply -
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