Newbie Question - Getting sawdust off/out of the wood

[rbrandywine]

That's great! Either way I go now, varnish or oil, I've got a reasonable method for cleaning the wood up before finishing.

[Tom Woodman]

[Tom Woodman]

[Luigi Zanasi]

On Thu, 1 Dec 2005 10:23:38 -0600, "Swingman" scribbled:

Or Shopvacs with a blowing attachment.

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[somewildmonkey]

My projects are small, so I just use a shop vac with a soft brush. I only tried tack cloth once a few years back and maybe it was just the brand that I got but it was loaded with gunk that came right off on the wood (do you use tack cloth right after you open it or is it supposed to be exposed to air for a while? )

[rbrandywine]

That's a very good question somewildmon -- I'll be interested in hearing the answer.

I've heard of sanding sealer and will read up on it here but I'm trying to keep this simple as I've got a LOT of wood to finish.

[fredfighter]

I presume yopu meant that figuratively. IMHE mixing shellac with water immediately hardens the shellac. Not the sort of thing you want to happen in the trap below your drain.

[Swingman]

You're right ... but use hot water and household ammonia if you do happen to be cleaning up shellac equipment in the sink. That way you will have a better chance of surviving a SWMBO's wrath.

[gadgetman]

Hello, I use those pastel dusting cloths with the surface with all the cut fibers. I looked on one but did not see a brand name. They hold an amazing amount of dust can be cleaned over and over. . Especially good for final wiping before finishing. I was using used dryer sheets. I do a lot of spray finishing and they seems to work well, get very smooth surfaces. I also use a compressor which works fairly well but seldom seems to get the last bit of dust. Sometimes I use a vacuum with a soft brush. Don't use tack cloths anymore.

Mike R

[rbrandywine]

By pastel dusting cloths do you mean something like Swiffer Sweeps? I think I may try those, too. I'm guessing that if a tackcloth *does* put a little oil on the wood that a quick wipe with mineral spirits would clean it up.

[nospambob]

[rbrandywine]

I was just having a quick re-read of all the replies here. I'm a little confused, now, about the use of water -- I thought you *had* to use it to raise the grain at some point in the finishing process. But

-- it's almost sounding as if you only need to do that if you are about to apply a water-based finish (which I'm not). Is that correct?

With oil-based products do you just use mineral spirits?

[Luigi Zanasi]

On 5 Dec 2005 04:58:23 -0800, [e-mail] scribbled:

Yes. If you don't deliberately do it before, water-based finishes will raise the grain.

Oil-based products do not raise the gain, so there is no need to raise to do it.

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[George]

Though you'd still be wise to do it. If nothing else, it highlights loose glue and sanding faults to give you a second chance.

[rbrandywine]

Thanks, I'll try both ways and see what results I get.

[rbrandywine]

Actually, on 2nd thought, I'll just clean with mineral spirits -- to keep things simple and save some time at the expense of some money.

[Luigi Zanasi]

On Tue, 6 Dec 2005 07:00:01 -0500, "George" scribbled:

True. Wiping with mineral spirits does give you an idea what it will look like when finished, so you can fix things if needed. But it won't raise the grain.

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