How to Avoid Sander Swirl Marks When Refinishing Furniture

This is a pretty common issue—even I get them from time to time; those annoying swirl marks (pigtails) when using a power sander, especially an orbital one. In this video, I'm refinishing a pretty damaged dresser that looks like someone's first attempt at refinishing. The entire piece was covered in those pesky swirl marks, bad staining, and a poorly applied top coat.

There are things you can do to help avoid them, such as using less pressure, using a finer grit sanding pad, clearing away sanding dust and debris in between sanding, changing the sandpaper more often, and slowing down. Removing these marks, especially when wood stain has settled into them, can be tricky—particularly on veneer, because you can only re-sand so far.

This piece didn't turn out perfect (they seldom do; perfection is for the showroom floor), but I did remove the vast majority of the marks, added some beautiful navy paint, and this piece is now refreshed with a new lease on life.