# Denibbing?



## Calv (5 Mar 2005)

Am i right in saying this is the term used for lightly sanding the bitty rough bits between coats? What i would like to know is, once i've finished my project and i have my final coat of varnish on, can you still denib after this to get those last little bits of dust or whatever that you can still feel on your otherwise smooth surface? If you can, is it just a cse of using the finest sandpaper?

Thanks,

Calv.


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## Aragorn (5 Mar 2005)

I should think opinion varies a bit on this on Calv, and it may also depend on what finish you are using and how you want the last coat to look.
I will use 1200 grit wet and dry paper after the last coat has dried as necessary to denib, and "control" the sheen of the finish.

Be interesting to hear what other people do?


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## Alf (5 Mar 2005)

I hesitated to respond to this, simply 'cos my finishing techniques are rudimentary in the extreme, and the all embracing "it depends" seems to apply again. I have denibbed a "final" coat more than once, and almost universaly found I needed to do something else subsequently. Denibbing "dry" without any lubricant seems to always be a no-no in my limited experience, so I tend to resort to wax and (guess what, folks :roll: )Webrax regardless of what I'd intended initially.  I, too, would like to hear what the more experienced, er, experience is concerning this. I have a nasty feeling we might get into pumice and rottenstone and car polishing compound, so I ask with some trepidation. Maybe it's just poor technique applying the final coat? S'good question, Calv.

Cheers, Alf


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## Chris Knight (5 Mar 2005)

Finishes invariably need finishing to get the best possible result. As Alf says, this may involve pumice and rottenstone although these days modern auto body polishing compounds have rather displaced those traditional materials.

However, fine grades of paper (600 grit to 2000, usually wet and dry lubricated with water, thin oils or some such, are often used) as are card type scrapers - as a precursor to fine sanding in most cases (I quite often use a scraper and then 1000 and 4000 grit Abralon).

If you learn to finish the finish, then you will soon appreciate that the best finish to use is always a gloss finish as any satiny finish you desire can easily be achieved with the right technique and the depth of colour is much better without the horrible flatteners that get put into so-called satin finishes.

You will also find that nothing beats the sensuous feeling of a properly finished finish - often with a waxing as the last step.


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## Sir Percy (29 May 2015)

I'm coming up to the final coat (to be honest, I've lost count of the number of coats I've put on, and am just dying to get this done) and have read about using scrunched-up brown paper to lightly abrade the final coat to de-nib. 
Anyone have any experience (good or bad) of, or an opinion on, this?


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## Phil Pascoe (29 May 2015)

A ten year old post. Is this a record?


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## gregmcateer (29 May 2015)

phil.p":c6izwtm0 said:


> A ten year old post. Is this a record?



Well, I've heard one shouldn't rush the finishing - most important part, so they say :wink:


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## NickWelford (29 May 2015)

Hmmm, before I noted the date, I sa Alf's post and thought, Great! She's back!


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## blackrodd (29 May 2015)

phil.p":ds3tk8ja said:


> A ten year old post. Is this a record?




10 Years 2months, Its the longest time span I've seen, It could be the record!
Rodders


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## Sir Percy (30 May 2015)

I got to this thread by way of a search. Will it be ten years before a reply?


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## CHJ (30 May 2015)

You don't specify what 'coating' you are applying and what surface texture you are aiming at, just perfectly smooth, matt, sheen, gloss, or high gloss.

And of coarse area you are treating.

The treatment of final surface very much depends upon coating and its need to polymerise or harden through solvent dispersal and associated timescales.

If you have a sound clear surface coating that has formed a hardened skin you can abrade the surface just the same as you would on an enamel paint with fine abrasives and auto polishes or burnishing creams to blend out any minor runs or dust mites.

If what you have done regarding coating to date is still leaving blemishes that you feel need abrading, be it with burnishing cream or brown paper (which can be very variable on abrasiveness) what precautions are being taken to improve your 'final coat'


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## Sir Percy (31 May 2015)

CHJ":byf37aly said:


> You don't specify what 'coating' you are applying and what surface texture you are aiming at, just perfectly smooth, matt, sheen, gloss, or high gloss.
> 
> And of course area you are treating.



Le Tonkinois (not 'classic') varnish - which dries gloss. Area is ~ 1sq. metre, and like a very shallow barrel-top lid on a chest.

Precautions: hoovering, new tin of varnish, clean-as-possible brush?


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## Phil Pascoe (31 May 2015)

A tack rag is a good idea - no matter how you brush, a rag will still pick up more.


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## rafezetter (6 Jun 2015)

phil.p":3smghjr6 said:


> A tack rag is a good idea - no matter how you brush, a rag will still pick up more.



Lol blimey a necro'd post that actually managed to sit up and carry on where it left off, Frankenstein would have been pleased.

And a cloth plus white spirit (or something like auto panel wipe) will take off the last the tack cloth left behind, plus remove any last traces of finger oils and prints you may have imparted.


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## Sir Percy (12 Jun 2015)

Yeah, I was using tack cloths as well.

Anyway, I think what I learnt in the end was not to worry about it too much.
I thinned down the varnish for the final coat quite a bit as well as passing through a tea strainer (if I ever do this again, I'll get myself a paint filter).

I have wound up with a few very minute nibs, but nothing I'm going to get bothered about.

Thanks all.


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## MIGNAL (17 Jun 2015)

You can thin it down even further and use it as a wipe on/wipe off, for the last few coats. Very thin Oil varnish isn't affected by dust as much. You'll end up with some micro lines from the cloth or tissue. If you wipe off in very straight, slightly overlapping lines it will look fine. The other method is to let it all dry, harden and sink - weeks if not months for Oil varnishes. Then use the 'lens polishing' technique of finer and finer grits until you end up with a liquid polishing compound. You should end up with glass. 
Prefer the former technique (and the look) myself, less work and not quite as plastic looking.


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## Sir Percy (18 Jun 2015)

What would you use to wipe - some sort of lint-free cloth?


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## MIGNAL (18 Jun 2015)

Yes, lint free cloth, I've even used tissue paper. Just don't wait too long to wipe it off, a few minutes at the most.


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