Dreaded White Spots Ramble

[montmill]

I use GluBoost although I've had this problem with others finishes as well. My theory is, if the wood has depressions or super open pores they risk being filled with sanding dust. With GluBoost it's white from sanding and leveling the CA finish, with walnut it was white diamond from buffing a tung oil finish. I've avoided the walnut problem by wet sanding with tung oil sealer and making a smooth uniform surface and I've substituted vonax for white diamond on the second wheel. With GluBoost I try and fill the voids with sanding dust from the original finish or a filler, like copper or bronze powder with Mercury Fast CA over it. Once the CA is fully dried I'll sand until smooth and the finish is level and clean before applying GluBoost. What I don't know is if the GluBoost will be stable over Mercury Flex long term. I've read previous threads on this topic and hope I've understood what many of you are doing. I look forward to your responses.

 

[ed4copies]

Do you have an air compressor? Blow off the dust before putting any CA on.

 

[egnald]

I've had the "white dot syndrome" before. Mine was due to almost microscopic pinholes in the CA finish that would fill up with the plastic polish I was using. My solution was to stop using a wet polish by purchasing a Rikon slow speed buffer. I buff with the PSI Blue rouge on a sewn cotton wheel followed by polishing on a loose flannel wheel. That has fixed the problem for me.

As Ed suggested, I always use compressed air ("canned dusting air") to blow off my blanks before applying any finish. My CA finish regimen builds up enough thickness and fills up voids so buffing after wet sanding with MicroMesh never seems to cause any spots for me.

I have also used a tinted wood filler to fill bug/worm holes in some of my pens before I apply a finish. This has usually been holes in Ambrosia maple and I usually fill them with "Rustic Ebony Timbermate" wood filler. I have several colors of Timbermate that I use on other projects. In addition to being a typical wood filler, it is water based so it can be thinned down to a slurry and applied as a grain filler. It has worked great for me when working with the open end grain pores on woods like Oak.

To answer your question however, I would think that GluBoost would play well with Mercury Flex as both are essentially Cyanoacrylate with a very minute quantity of additives. I think I would skip the Mercury Flex though and just use GluBoost.

Regards,
Dave

 

[montmill]

Couple of questions. Before adding finish and after all sanding I'd blow off the dust with the air compressor, correct? When I apply GluBoost thick first like John Underhill does I think, I need to lay down a level layer. I believe Hank suggests foam as the applicator. He feels he gets the smoothest finish. Once you have lets say three applications of GluBoost thick you should be able to level with steel wool and have a completely smooth surface with all the holes filled and level correct? Now you should be able to add multiple layers of thin GluBoost and finish using micromesh or Zona paper without any issues?

 

[Fred Bruche]

On woods with open pores, I typically start with a few coats of ultra-thin GluBoost after blowing dust. In my hands, it works better to fill the pores than any other version, before moving to the thicker ones.