Sanding Sealer

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PaulDoug

PaulDoug

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Benton City, WA.
I purchased some Mylands Cellulose Sanding Sealer (SS). Unfortuntally it comes with no instructions.

I bought it because I have read how well SS brings out the grain. I am making a pen using BOW. I have it turned and sanded to 220 grit. When do I put on the SS? If now do I clean off the sawdust from sanding first, unlike CA? Can I put a CA finish on top of SS? What the heck am I doing??[?]
 
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I don't you do a CA finish. That being said, I apply sanding sealer as the last step prior to the finish. Once sanding is complete, remove as much dust as practical and apply the sanding sealer.
 
I also sand through to whatever grit size the wood demands to get a high polish. I then wipe oily woods with DNA and then apply sanding sealer. Sanding sealer is often simply a shellac with perhaps some dryers in it to speed the process. Shellac is unique in that it will allow different finishes (oil based or water based) to be applied either under or over each other with a coat or two of shellac in between.

For instance you can apply BLO to a figured wood to 'pop' the grain and then seal the wood with sanding sealer and then apply glue (CA) over the top and actually have the glue stick. Sanding sealer also fills open wood grain when applied and sanded and re-applied until you level off the wood surface.
 
Sanding sealer is used to seal the pores. I apply sealer, wait for it to dry, sand, wipe down the blank, apply the sealer, wait for it to dry, sand with the next finer grit, wipe down the blank, apply sanding sealer... (you get the idea). I do a minimum of three applications of sealer and make sure I do this process through 600 grit.
 
I sand with 400, the lowest grit I use, apply Mylands with a rag, lathe off, wipe off excess immediately and let dry overnight. MM through all grits and apply CA (no BLO). Hope that helped.
By the way, I highly recommend the stuff. One can has lasted me 2 years so far and there's 1/4 of it left![8D]
 
I'm confused, do you apply the sanding sealer before you sand or after you sand? I was told to use the sanding sealer to keep bushing dust out of the grain. I was also told it would prevent the white dust from CA getting in the open pores. And that it would keep contrasting colors from blending when segmenting. So, help me with my confusion, lol.:D
 
some of the sanding sealers are cellulose based. Cellulose as you might know is wood fibre finely powdered. The object of using sanding sealer is to fill in the open wood grain. By appling multiple coats and sanding between you fill in the grain and level the surface out so that you get an even finish. I happen to use a shellac based sanding sealer because I think shellac provides a better barrier between oil and anything else.
 
IMO you really should get your sanding done before applying the SS. If you have sratches in the blank when you apply sealer you will still see the sratches. You can sand after applying sealer/finish to level the surface then polish but sealer won't cover up sratches.
If you have problems with bushing dust you can do one of two things, Sand from the center of the blanks toward the bushings, then move the sand paper to a new surface before going back over the blank again. Or, my preferred method is take a the blank off the bushings mount it between the live and dead center and finish it without the bushings. I am am a firm believer in this process. A dead center only cost $5 or so (plus shipping) and well worth it.
 
I'm looking for a sanding sealer that will cure/dry from friction, will Mylands dry/cure this way or do you have to wait until tomorrow to continue finishing ?

Thanks
Paul
 
Originally posted by paulstenlund

I'm looking for a sanding sealer that will cure/dry from friction, will Mylands dry/cure this way or do you have to wait until tomorrow to continue finishing ?

Thanks
Paul
Click to expand...
You can finish right away.
 
Thanks Steve, that's what I need I want to shape, finish and take it off the lathe. I just ordered the Mylands Sanding Sealer - can't wait

Thanks Again
Paul
 
Or, my preferred method is take a the blank off the bushings mount it between the live and dead center and finish it without the bushings. I am am a firm believer in this process. A dead center only cost $5 or so (plus shipping) and well worth it.

Jerryconn, I haven't tried finishing between centers. I would guess that you have to be very careful about how much pressure you put on the blanks to keep from mushroomig them. Have you had any problems with this? I would also think that 2 live centers would work better? Otherwise the dead center would be burnishing the tube?
 
Originally posted by Jerryconn

IMO you really should get your sanding done before applying the SS. If you have sratches in the blank when you apply sealer you will still see the sratches. You can sand after applying sealer/finish to level the surface then polish but sealer won't cover up sratches.
If you have problems with bushing dust you can do one of two things, Sand from the center of the blanks toward the bushings, then move the sand paper to a new surface before going back over the blank again. Or, my preferred method is take a the blank off the bushings mount it between the live and dead center and finish it without the bushings. I am am a firm believer in this process. A dead center only cost $5 or so (plus shipping) and well worth it.
Click to expand...

I may be totally wrong, but it was my understanding that you used the sanding sealer prior to sanding to seal the wood pores and to prevent the raising of grain particularly in soft woods when you applied the finish of choice. Some people use thin CA a substitute to sanding sealers.

BTW---Where do you get a dead center for $5.00?

Joe
 
I'm with Rick. Heck, the sanding sealer seems to completely eliminate cloudiness in CA finishes. I too prefer just CA, no BLO. 3 coats of sealer, sand smooth then 2 coats medium CA, sand and polish. Foolproof as long as you don't oversand the CA. CA seems to cure faster over a sealer too. I can apply as much as 3 coats of medium in a day if it's sealed. I don not use accelerators, just let nature do the work.
 
I don't mean to hijack the thread, but I have a question pertaining to sanding sealer. I have a can of Mylands Cellulose Sanding Sealer and the cap broke so I've been plugging it with a cloth. Well needless to say, it's dried out some and now it's like syrup. What can I add to it to thin it out again? Lacquer thinner since it's lacquer based? What consistency should it be?
 
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