preventing black streaks in open grained wood?

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amheck

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Hi all,

I've struggled with this since the beginning and I wanted to finally ask to see what the problem was. I always end up with black/dark streaks in opened grained wood. I have a feeling it might be from my sand paper?

This is zebrawood, I believe. I turn the pen, then sand with 150/220/320/400 paper, then go to a 600 (black) wet/dry paper, and then to the MM, which is also black. Finish is the Mylands 3 step process with TSW on top of that.

Any ideas?

pen.jpg
 
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I use the same sandpaper types and don't have that problem. Are you sanding right up to the bushings or actually contacting the bushings? The metal can cause some of that.
 
Bill, yeah, I do sand up to and over onto the bushings. I guess its' best not to do that, huh?
 
Sometimes that can be the cause, but if it continues even if you don't sand the bushings, I'm not sure what would be causing it.

It is hard not to get your sand paper on the bushings. I don't think a little bit here and there will cause too many problems, but it is better to try not to.
 
Amheck,
Are you getting all the sanding dust off the piece before you put on your finish? I use my vacuume, then blow off with air, Then wipe down with mineral spirits, then I wipe the piece with a tack cloth before I ever even think of putting on a finish.
 
It has happened to me if the wood has been wet sanded then I don't let it dry enough. It also happens if I try to sand before the finish is cured completely.
 
Aaron,

Wipe it down with mineral spirits. I had the same problem with automotive wet/dry.

Mike
 
I have some 600 grit wet or dry that tends to leave black like that. It is pretty old. I don't know it it changes with age or maybe it is just bad.
 
Try coating your bushings with a little ca, someone here mentioned it before and I use it all the time on light colored woods and it does help
 
I had the same problem with the segmented pen I did a couple of weeks ago. Someone recommended to me (I think it was Griz) rubbing the blank down with mineral spirits between grits. I haven't tried it yet but it sounds like it would work.
 
This has happened to me when I put too much pressure on the wet/dry type of paper. If I sand very lightly, I don't seem to get any marks. I haven't tried a mineral spirit wash - I'll try it the next time it happens.
 
I had the same problem with light, open-grained woods until I started wiping them down with alcohol (90% isopropyl from the drug store) before I put a finish on them. No more problems since I've been doing that.
 
Thanks guys for all of the suggestions. I tried another pen and it came out much better. I was careful to not sand the bushings and also wiped it down with mineral spirits. I will also see if I can coat the bushings.
 
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