Finishing with a darker and lighter wood

[eppen]

Hi there I recently made a pen with a dark wood as the main body and a lighter wood as the band. It appears that after sanding and finishing, the lighter wood has gone darker because of the darker wood contaminating it.
What is the best way to prevent this.



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[Jim15]

The best way that I have found is to apply a coat or two of thin CA glue before you start sanding.

 

[Dehn0045]

no sanding, use only the skew for finishing the surface. It requires more skill than using sandpaper, but you can achieve a better surface with the skew than with sandpaper (check out some skew youtube videos). I am by no means a skew expert, really just a beginner turner -- I made two identical segmented pens and on one I used sandpaper and the other I stopped with the skew. The skew-only pen was by far the better pen with essentially no contamination.

 

[eppen]

no sanding, use only the skew for finishing the surface. It requires more skill than using sandpaper, but you can achieve a better surface with the skew than with sandpaper (check out some skew youtube videos). I am by no means a skew expert, really just a beginner turner -- I made two identical segmented pens and on one I used sandpaper and the other I stopped with the skew. The skew-only pen was by far the better pen with essentially no contamination.

I guess I will have to brush up my skew skills


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[leehljp]

no sanding, use only the skew for finishing the surface. It requires more skill than using sandpaper, but you can achieve a better surface with the skew than with sandpaper (check out some skew youtube videos). I am by no means a skew expert, really just a beginner turner -- I made two identical segmented pens and on one I used sandpaper and the other I stopped with the skew. The skew-only pen was by far the better pen with essentially no contamination.

I think a carbide scraper might do well too, under some circumstances. I primarily use scrapers but mine are self sharpened HSS scrapers. I do fill that my sharpened scrapers are sharper than carbide scrapers.

That said, here is a general rule on which to use when: Skews do much better on softer woods than scrapers do - unless the softer woods have been stabilized. On hard woods and stabilized woods, the scraper will match the skew. I can't say from personal experience as I am not proficient with a skew, but an old timer (turner and pen maker - long gone) proficient in both taught me that bit of wisdom.

Skillful use of a skew or scraper will make the wood smooth/smoother than sandpaper and will prevent the dust from staining/contaminating the adjacent wood. I whole heartedly agree with Dehn0045 on finishing this way.

Get some wood and spend an hour practice turning for a smooth finish without sandpaper. I still use SP in many situations but do without SP in others.

 

[eppen]

That makes me think that my sanding process is flawed. Before I put on my first coat of ca finish. I sand with sandpaper up to 600, I then wet sand with micro pads all the way up to 12000. Only then do I layer on the CA. Am I creating extra work and/or problems


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[Wildman]

Hard to say without knowing species of dark or lighter wood. Are you dealing with closed or open grain or oily woods? Some lighter species species darken with exposure to light and air and some darker speacies lighten with same exposures even after finish applied.

Sanding dust or oily wood bleeding into lighter wood always a problem especially when finish is applied. Depending upong species involved wiping down with solvents before applying finish can also cause same problem.

Great info on tool use already provided we should all work towards an off the tool surface!

Blowing or brushing off dust as we sand can also help some. Also applying sealer coat of finish product to darker or lighter wood first reduce or stop bleeding the way to go.

 

[Dehn0045]

That makes me think that my sanding process is flawed. Before I put on my first coat of ca finish. I sand with sandpaper up to 600, I then wet sand with micro pads all the way up to 12000. Only then do I layer on the CA. Am I creating extra work and/or problems


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My opinion is that MM on bare wood is a waste of time. I will sometimes sand with paper up to 2000, but only when I am using dense closed grain woods. My guess is that after the CA finish is applied it will be hard to see (with the naked eye) any marks in the wood smaller than about 600 grit. I feel that the advantage of sandpaper is that not much technique is required to get a smooth surface. However, there are two significant drawbacks in my opinion: (1) dust will fill the pores of the wood, I would rather the pores be left open and eventually filled with clear CA which tends to yield better chatoyance. You can clean the blank with denatured alcohol, but it is hard to get the fine dust out of the pores on open grain wood like wenge, padauk, etc. (2) sanding on the lathe is almost always across the grain, a big no-no in woodworking, with patience you can get it sanded smooth through all the grits but it can be time consuming. With good technique you can get better (and faster) results with the skew or scraper.

I suggest trying to make a pen without sanding prior to CA and see if you can see difference. The first time I did it the feeling was really foreign, like I was forgetting an important step, but the pen turned out great. Now I don't even hesitate foregoing the sandpaper.

 

[1080Wayne]

Wet sanding will certainly exacerbate the problem . Compressed air may help a little if the wood is dry . Only sand to 600 ANSI or P800 myself before applying CA . Skew is best route .