Results 1 to 6 of 6

Thread: Sanding stuff

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Cortland. N.Y
    Posts
    91

    Question Sanding stuff

    This may be dumb but......
    I hear some talk about sanding things wet.
    Can anyone explain to me why and when?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Kennewick, WA
    Posts
    349
    James, not dumb.
    I'll speak to what little I know. Some turnings, when done with your "normal" progression of sanding e.g. 120 grit, 240 grit, 400 grit are usually "dry" sanded. Beyond that, when going to ever finer sanding, I use wet or dry sandpaper from auto supply house like Schucks, Al's, whatever. I sand "wet" meaning I put a little Danish Oil in a plastic cup and dip sandpaper in it before sanding. Seems to give a smoother finish and do a little grain filling at the same time. For acrylic pens, I use the same process e.g. wet or dry sandpaper but with water instead of oil. In both cases, it makes a bit of a "slurry". I presume you can do the same with flatwork, with the penetrating oils or boiled linseed oil (BLO), especially if you wrap the sandpaper around a block.
    I'm sure others with a lot more experience than me will chime in.
    Ernie
    Ernie on-the-dry-side; WA

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Conway, Arkansas
    Posts
    13,181
    Good question James!!!!!

    Wet Sanding.....any sanding process that you do with wet/dry sandpaper that you "lubricate" with some medium that does not attach the finished surface. Poly or Varnish, you can wet sand with lemon oil. Shellac, you can wet sand with mineral spirits (after the shellac has dried). Some even wet sand with mineral oil or water...just depends on what the finish is and what you can use to libricate the sanding with that won't attach the finish. An example of what NOT to do is wet sand shellac with denatured alcohol or varnish with mineral spirits as these will begin to melt the topcoat.

    Make sense?
    Thanks & Happy Wood Chips,
    Dennis -
    Get the Benefits of Being an SMC Contributor..!
    ....DEBT is nothing more than yesterday's spending taken from tomorrow's income.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Cortland. N.Y
    Posts
    91

    Thanks

    So the reason to do this is..... to help fill in pores and/or to get a shinier finish?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Conway, Arkansas
    Posts
    13,181
    Not necessarily fill in pores but to level the finish, remove dust nibs and such that dried in the finish and give you a nice smooth surface. You can make it a shinny surface if you used a gloss finish. You can even make a gloss finish Semi-Gloss if you buff the finish with some 0000 steelwool or something equivalent with a little lube and then wipe dry and clean. I buffed out our kitchen table I made with 0000 steelwool and Johnson's Paste Wax and that took a little of the gloss off and provided a nice even wax coat for added protection.

    There is a sanding process that is "wet" with a wash coat of the clear finish that will aid in grain filling but I've never done it. You're basically sanding with 220 or 320 grit paper and a highly thinned (50/50) mix of thinner and the actual clear finish...apply sparingly and sand really well....let dry and sand with the next higher grit..lightly though. Wipe clean or vacuum and apply your series of clear topcoats after that.
    Thanks & Happy Wood Chips,
    Dennis -
    Get the Benefits of Being an SMC Contributor..!
    ....DEBT is nothing more than yesterday's spending taken from tomorrow's income.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Cortland. N.Y
    Posts
    91
    Thanks Dennis


    I actually have tried doing this with the steel wool and BLO,Poly,mineral spirits mix because I had read about doing that somewhere. I just wasn't sure why I was doing it. The finish came out looking pretty good in the end on a piece of scrap cherry I'm going to try it on my current project and see how it goes.

Similar Threads

  1. Shepherd Tool Meeting & Stuff
    By Dave Anderson NH in forum Neanderthal Haven
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 04-21-2004, 1:24 AM
  2. Downdraft sanding table
    By Syd Lorandeau in forum General Woodworking and Power Tools
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 02-07-2004, 2:19 PM
  3. Cool old iron stuff
    By Tom Sweeney in forum General Woodworking and Power Tools
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 09-15-2003, 9:00 AM
  4. another sanding machine question...
    By markus shaffer in forum General Woodworking and Power Tools
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 07-23-2003, 7:37 PM
  5. Anyone Use Sanding Mops?
    By markus shaffer in forum General Woodworking and Power Tools
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 07-22-2003, 6:32 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •