Why does everyone stop sanding at 120 on face frames

I do a lot of painted cabinets and I keep seeing other guys in the shop stop at 120 grit on the face frames. Then they prime and paint and every little grain pop shows up a week later. Last month I had to redo a whole kitchen in Tacoma because the homeowner noticed it. I know it adds maybe 10 minutes per frame to hit 150 or 180, but seems worth it to avoid a callback. Has anyone else run into this or do you think the extra steps are just overkill for production?

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ellis.jennifer22d ago

The whole grain pop thing is what got me too. I used to be one of those guys stopping at 120 because it saved time and I figured the primer would cover it. Then I had a job where the paint crazed on the cabinets and I had to sand everything down and start over. Now I always hit 150 at minimum, and it's not even about the extra time, it's about not having to go back and fix something that could have been avoided. That Tacoma kitchen sounds like a nightmare, I'd rather spend the 10 minutes than deal with a callback.

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