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Pinewood Derby Stories and Photos from Maximum Velocity
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Many people don't like to sand cars. They find the work boring and tedious, so sanding is often short-changed, resulting in a finish that is not very smooth. Personally, I like to sand. It can be tedious, but it is a good break from the hectic pace of life. It is also satisfying to see a rough car body - with flaws and defects - transformed into a finished car. This process reminds me a process we all should go through in our lives. But before I comment on that, let's look at how to sand a car.
As you probably know sanding involves smoothing the car using sandpaper, with the goal of creating a very smooth finish, free of defects and scratches. Before sanding make sure to fill in any deep scratches or flaws with wood putty, and then allow the putty to dry.
The key to sanding is to start with a coarse grit paper and then progress to successively finer grit papers. A good sandpaper grit progression is 60, 120, 240, and 400. This progression can vary, but skipping too quickly to a higher number will make the job more difficult.
Sanding flat surfaces is greatly simplified by using a sanding block. A sanding block is designed to hold 1/4 of a sheet of standard sandpaper. It usually has a padded surface which helps make the finish very smooth. When selecting a sanding block, try to find one that can be easily held by your child (not too wide or heavy).
For sanding concave (inward curving) shapes wrap some sandpaper around a piece of wood (or your finger). A dowel rod – or a piece of broom stick handle – works well for sanding concave curves. Similarly, a rectangular piece of wood simplifies sanding concave square areas. For convex (outward curving) shapes (see Figure 3 – next page), use a sanding block, or just hold the paper in your hand and use fingertip pressure to sand the desired area.
Using the technique outlined above, and with a little practice and patience, you will be able to create a nice finish on your car.
All of us would also like to have a life with a 'nice finish', that is a life that is in harmony with God and man. We are told that Jesus himself "grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men."1
How does this process work? What is the 'sandpaper' that helps us achieve a nice finish? The answer to this is not exactly what most people want to hear. For just as in sanding, we must remove material to reveal the finish, so too in our lives, we must remove the bad (habits, behavior, thinking, etc.), so that the finish can be revealed. In the Bible, we find a word picture of trimming vines in a vineyard that helps explain this process to us. "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful."2
Pruning sounds a little painful, and it can be. However, if we want to have a life that pleases God, we must be willing to undergo some pain (discipline, trials, suffering, etc). For it is by trials that our finish is revealed. In fact we are told to "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."3
So as you face trials, remember that to create a nice finish, sanding must be performed. In your life, God, the Master Craftsman, is sanding off the blemishes, so that the true finish can be revealed.