sanding residue...

[Hucifer]

Ok guys this is driving me nuts. I on larger grained wood(not sure if that is the term) like zebrawood for example, I sand to 400 - 600, wipe with denatured alcohol, hit it with teak oil (I prefer it over BLO) then several coats(usually about 6) of CA. I then sand with pads to 12000 and then use plastic polish. Sounds good huh? And it works beautifully most of the time. But the larger grained woods always end up with tiny white residue in the grain. I have tried blowing it out with compressed air, but that won't work. I have tried wet sanding, but that leaves residue as well. And with wet sanding I tend to get a gray hue on the ends by the bushings...

 

[DCBluesman]

Seal early and seal often.

 

[1080Wayne]

What viscosity of CA are you using ? Thin is best for the initial sealing of the wood , but for filling grain I find medium to be best . Basically , you have to put on a thick enough layer that when sanded down all of the wood pores have been filled yet you haven`t sanded through the finish in the non-pore areas .

Sometimes it is possible to wash the CA sanding dust out of the pores with denatured alcohol , if you want to leave them partially filled as a feature of the pen . Try this before using the plastic polish . The polish would help to fill in the pores .

It is also possible to sand the CA , leave as much dust as you can in place , put on another layer of thin , making a slurry with the dust , and use it to fill the pores .

 

[snyiper]

I use a small metal brush with brass wire in it (looks like a tooth brush) and go paralell to the blank to clear out the white specs then seal.

 

[CharlesH]

Sounds like the CA coat over your pen is not thick enough.

Especially with zebrawood it's got small pores. My advice is to apply a few coats of thin then go with medium until you filled them and at this point go on with sanding.

Charles

 

[mrcook4570]

Lathe on, approximately 1000 rpm, sand with 320 or 400 grit WHILE applying a few drops of this CA to the spinning blank. Sandpaper is held under the blank, CA goes on top. This creates a slurry of CA and sanding dust that will fill in any of the pores. This works great for filling open grained woods and small voids. Keep the sandpaper moving, both sided to side and up and down.

 

[mick]

My way of dealing with woodssuch as Zebrawood is to builds up your finish enough to fill the grains BEFORE doing any sanding of finsh.
Quick rundown of finishing Zebra wood:
Sand 600 grit
Blow off residue with compressed air
Seal with thin CA
Build up with as many coats as needed until the surface is smooth(no grain showing)

Works everyting because you not introduced any dust into the open grain at anytime during the application of your finish.

YMMV but this works for me!