Max Taylor
In Memoriam
Enlighten me please. Should sanding sealer be used on all turnings or just the porous woods before applying the finish. Thanky, Max.
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sanding sealer uses in turning
- Thread starter Max Taylor
- Start date
I only use it when I am finishing with lacquer.
But... I use it every time I am finishing with lacquer.
PS... I don't finish with lacquer very often.
But... I use it every time I am finishing with lacquer.
PS... I don't finish with lacquer very often.
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it is really a matter of personal preference. I know turners who use it on everything and turners that never use and they all usually end up with nicely finished pieces.
Sanding Sealer
You can use sanding sealer as a flat work craftsman does. Apply to fill a porous wood. Then sand and remove most of it. Then finish. You can use a spirit based (alcohol) sanding sealer (a half or maybe one pound cut of shellac). You can use a cellulose based (laquer thinner) sanding sealer. If you are finishing with a shellac - you want the same base. If you intend to use a laquer - you want the same base. Yes, you can put the alcohol base under just about anything.
Because a seal is intended to penetrate, while the finish is intended to build a film - the difference is not the product -- it is the consistency. A thicker product will build a finish layer by layer and not penetrate as a thinner product would. You can thin laquer with laquer thinner to make your own sanding sealer.
You can apply it to a fuzzy grain or end grain, and allow it to provide support to the end grain for cutting.
John
You can use sanding sealer as a flat work craftsman does. Apply to fill a porous wood. Then sand and remove most of it. Then finish. You can use a spirit based (alcohol) sanding sealer (a half or maybe one pound cut of shellac). You can use a cellulose based (laquer thinner) sanding sealer. If you are finishing with a shellac - you want the same base. If you intend to use a laquer - you want the same base. Yes, you can put the alcohol base under just about anything.
Because a seal is intended to penetrate, while the finish is intended to build a film - the difference is not the product -- it is the consistency. A thicker product will build a finish layer by layer and not penetrate as a thinner product would. You can thin laquer with laquer thinner to make your own sanding sealer.
You can apply it to a fuzzy grain or end grain, and allow it to provide support to the end grain for cutting.
John
I am finishing a Walnut burl bowl right now with Laquer.
My test pieces showed that the end result was much better after using the sealer than before. The sealer really helped to even things out.
Andrew
My test pieces showed that the end result was much better after using the sealer than before. The sealer really helped to even things out.
Andrew
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I'm easily confused, so bear with me.
Pore fillers are normally pastes of silex (used to be litharge!) or other solids with oil vehicles. Have seen some water-based. They do just that-fill the pores. You wipe on after sanding, with the grain, let soak, scrub off across the grain. Sometimes you mix a bit of color in them to try and match the holes to the background. Any secondary surface prep is incidental.
Sanding sealers are really not pore-fillers, and some are still stearated to help do what the original intent of a sanding sealer was - set up the grain, reduce the coefficient of friction and keep the dust from clogging the paper. With modern papers, especially open coat and stearated surface types, the "sanding" part is hardly needed.
A seal can be provided by a thinned coat of the non-waterborne finish itself, and if you wet sand with it, you can clog the pores a bit as well. Use other sealing methods with caution to insure compatability with the final finish. Shellac has the advantage of setting up the grain for scuff sanding as well as sizing to retard the soak of subsequent finishes, which makes them look more even on the first coat. Mechanical bond is still good over one or even two seals if you scuff, but gets a bit worse thereafter, in my experience.
So, depending on your desire, you may use a pore filler with or without color, a sealer compatable with the final finish to size the surface slightly, or an actual sanding sealer to help with sanding.
Or you can sand in your Watco or any other "Wipe" or "Danish" oil finish and get a bit of everything.
Pore fillers are normally pastes of silex (used to be litharge!) or other solids with oil vehicles. Have seen some water-based. They do just that-fill the pores. You wipe on after sanding, with the grain, let soak, scrub off across the grain. Sometimes you mix a bit of color in them to try and match the holes to the background. Any secondary surface prep is incidental.
Sanding sealers are really not pore-fillers, and some are still stearated to help do what the original intent of a sanding sealer was - set up the grain, reduce the coefficient of friction and keep the dust from clogging the paper. With modern papers, especially open coat and stearated surface types, the "sanding" part is hardly needed.
A seal can be provided by a thinned coat of the non-waterborne finish itself, and if you wet sand with it, you can clog the pores a bit as well. Use other sealing methods with caution to insure compatability with the final finish. Shellac has the advantage of setting up the grain for scuff sanding as well as sizing to retard the soak of subsequent finishes, which makes them look more even on the first coat. Mechanical bond is still good over one or even two seals if you scuff, but gets a bit worse thereafter, in my experience.
So, depending on your desire, you may use a pore filler with or without color, a sealer compatable with the final finish to size the surface slightly, or an actual sanding sealer to help with sanding.
Or you can sand in your Watco or any other "Wipe" or "Danish" oil finish and get a bit of everything.
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mr. pan
I like using a sealer to keep dark dust out of the light wood areas.
Especially wood like walnut where a white sape ring contrasts with the dark heartwood. The sealer helps keep the white wood white.
Any finishing technique used on flat wood prettymuch works on round wood.
Happy Turning,
Al
I like using a sealer to keep dark dust out of the light wood areas.
Especially wood like walnut where a white sape ring contrasts with the dark heartwood. The sealer helps keep the white wood white.
Any finishing technique used on flat wood prettymuch works on round wood.
Happy Turning,
Al
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I used a spray lacquer sanding sealer for the first time about a week ago on a canarywood bowl and was very disappointed that the sanding lealer seemed to be a bit translucent and obscured the grain detail a bit. Like MM, I do not see any particular need for sanding sealer and as MM said, its main function is to prevent getting corns on the sandpaper. Besides all that, sanding sealer is softer than the topcoat.
Bill
Bill