"Nibs" and raised grain

Unless you start with Watco to pop the color, you can use the same Minwax poly, cut 50%, as an "oil" finish.

"Max" wrote in news:4ea5c398$0$28056$c3e8da3$ snipped-for-privacy@news.astraweb.com:

I can't find the recipe for making tack cloth, or renewing it, anymore. Could you be so kind as to post it here again, please?

Han, if you ever want to find out something like this, open your browser and type in "how make -----", where ----- is the item of query. "How-to" info is rampant on the Web. Some of it is even usable!

-- It is characteristic of all deep human problems that they are not to be approached without some humor and some bewilderment. -- Freeman Dyson

Oops, I forgot to add that I don't use a tack rag. I wipe the piece down with lacquer thinner to remove all my oily fingerprints and anything else which has contaminated the wood prior to finish. I strongly recommend this method. Mineral spirits can also be used.

To me, this works a helluva lot better than a tack rag, but I don't like or use high-gloss finishes very often.

-- It is characteristic of all deep human problems that they are not to be approached without some humor and some bewilderment. -- Freeman Dyson

Most of my tack cloths are made from the "wipe down" of Danish oil. I store them in quart jars. But *if* I need to make one I use varnish "slightly" diluted with thinner.

If I'm using a water based poly, or a latex (rarely) finish, I use a damp (water) rag (wrung out well).

Max

Agreed, I very seldom use a tack rag and it is not good to use one on some finishes although I can't recall which and why.

Because I use gel varnishes 99% of the time a quick blow with my air hose gets rid of the excess but I am typically standing in saw dust when applying the finish and a fan is blowing. Care must be taken with the fan blowing directly at me as it will cause the finish to dry too much to wipe off the excess.

Larry gave you the answer (page to). You can also use microfiber rags. I have no idea of their efficacy compared to varnish impregnated tack rags but they do a great job of cleaning off sawdust,

"dadiOH" wrote in news:j86tsh$7kt$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me:

Thanks all for your informative answers!!!

They also collect all the old dryer sheets in any load of clothes!

IIRC you are not suppose to use those sheets/fabric softeners when washing and drying microfiber towels.

You do recall correctly. Just washed a few of mine. Instructions on them state no fabric softener/sheets.

I buy mine at the Sam's club, IIRC 24 for $12. We have about 36 of them running around here and when we get enough for a washer load we wash them separately.

Honestly, I refused to buy microfibre products for some time. Kept seeing people everywhere using them for cleaning floors and stuff. Thought all the claims of what they could do were hyperbole. Then I used one to clean my glasses. It has been sitting on my desk for over a year, only wash it every six months. Yet, no matter how grungy the rag is, it always cleans my glasses lens perfectly.

Been starting to wonder what else they can clean. They most definitely grab all the errant sawdust off my wood just before I stain or finish it.

I used microfiber on my glasses (polycarbonate) and it eventually scratched them (Microfine scratches) :-)

Max

Perhaps you should have eventually washed them sooner. (microhumor)

-- Learning to ignore things is one of the great paths to inner peace. -- Robert J. Sawyer

Great for wiping down appliances, and counter tops, they don't leave streaks. I use "2" 16x16 towels to dry my pick-up after I wash it.

Bona floor products uses a micro fiber towel on their mops. I saw just the mop at a trade show and water was being used as the solvent, saw the guy open an Ozarka bottle of water, take a drink out of it and then pour a bit on a heel scuff mark on tile. The water and the microfiber towel took the mark up. With stubborn marks I simply stand on the mop and rub with my foot.

They also work as a great sponge, I now soak up the bottom of a toilet tank with a micro fiber towel when replacing the valve assembly.

Good for dusting and as you have seen cleaning and or drying your glasses.

More likely, whatever you were wiping off your glasses scratched them

I use a squeegee, beach towel, and chamois on my pickup.

I really like a mop which can do that.

I find mopping the floor easier in most cases. In my carpeted master bath, I think those would be a boon.

Learning to ignore things is one of the great paths to inner peace. -- Robert J. Sawyer

-- Robert J. Sawyer

Hate when that happens.