Shellac loading sand paper fast

[Alex Ku]

I am using sanding sealer that is just a thinned shellac.
When I start sanding shellac loads up my sanding disk very quickly.

If I am not mistaken people are using Abranet discs to avoid this problem?

Any advise is appreciated.


Thanks,
Alex

 

[Russ Fairfield]

Shellac has a very low melting point - something like 150F. Give it a day or two to dry. Then sand without getting it hot. Slow down the sanding disc, use less pressure, and keep a piece of crepe rubber handy

 

[Ed Heuslein]

As usual, Sir Fairfield is correct.
My only additional advice is to contact Steve at www.turningwood.com for your abranet disks. He turned me on to them a couple years ago and I love them.

 

[Steve Worcester]

Abranet is a great product for this. But wet sanding would solve a lot of your problems too. I don't think water would foul shellac would it?

 

[Alex Ku]

Abranet is a great product for this. But wet sanding would solve a lot of your problems too. I don't think water would foul shellac would it?

You mean just to wet wood before sanding?

 

[MichaelMouse]

Wet sanding with water is not a good idea. It'll get through the gaps and louse things up by blushing under the shellac unless you have long drying intervals. Mineral spirits is a better choice. Better yet, don't sand a powered piece. All you're trying to do with a sealer is even out the absorption on a stain or finish to be applied later, so "sanding" is just a de-fuzz stage.

Standard sanding sealers are stearated - that's the sanding part - so they don't clog the paper so badly. If you've got enough resin that it's clogging your paper you don't have a sealer, but a finish cut. Use a 1# cut and you shouldn't have much clogging at all. If you hate to throw the paper away, you can blot it with an alcohol rag. Using open coat stearated paper wouldn't hurt.

 

[Rob Wallace]

Alex:

I routinely use a wash coat of ultra blonde shellac (from a small batch made fresh every few weeks or until it's used up) as a sanding sealer. I use a '1 pound cut' (which translates to about 1 ounce powdered flakes dissolved in 8 fluid ounces of denatured alcohol) which I use to wet the entire piece and allow to dry. I do add a bit more to end grain, since it soaks in quickly. I do not add so much to the surface as to get the drying surface looking shiny.

I allow the piece to dry completely for at least a day or two in a warm room (however, in practice, it usually winds up being a few days, since I often do 'batch' finishing) before I return to the final sanding phase of the process. If there are shiny spots on the surface, I remove this excess shellac with #1 steel wool before going on to the abrasives; this removes the bulk of the excess which would otherwise rapidly clog sanding disks. Sanding should be done on a fully dried surface, and as Russ said, must be done slowly and without heat build-up. I have done dozens of pieces using this technique, and it works quite well. The shellac forms an excellent base for sprayed lacquer which is my preferred finish for most of my pieces.

Good luck!

Rob Wallace

 

[Steve Worcester]

You mean just to wet wood before sanding?

Wet in this case would be sanding after shellac is put on and using something as a lubricant with the sandpaper to help eliminate the fouling, or balling up of the finish as you sand.

Typical lubricants would be wax, water, mineral spirits, etc. Each has their pluses and minuses. And generally you have to pick one that is compatible with you sanding material, the finish and the processes.

 

[Bill Boehme]

Here is a trick that some woodworkers who do flat work use to deal with the problem of raised grain: slightly wet the surface with a rag dampened with either water or alcohol before applying a finish. Allow the wood to thoroughly dry before applying a finish. Normally, there is no need to use a sanding sealer. However, synthetic steel wood that is slightly dampened in water and then applied with very light pressure is normally sufficient for knocking off the nibs that are sticking up if you have used a sanding sealer.

 

[john lucas]

I occasionally have the same problem although it's usually when I use thinned lacquer to harden punky areas of wood. To clean the sanding disc I use a wire file card followed by the crepe rubber or if I'm lucky just the crepe rubber. The file card will get rid of all the gunk but does seem to dull the sandpaper a little after several uses. Still it keeps you from having to toss the sandpaper after a few seconds of use.