Cleaning Wood Before Finishing

[Bassbear81]

Whats the best way to make sure all wood is free from dust before oiling?

What grade sand paper do people finish with before oiling?

 

[wizer]

I recently bought a few of these

I haven't used them yet so can't give you a review. I used to use white spirit and a old t-shirt.

 

[JonnyD]

I use a vacumn cleaner and soft brush attachment and a tack cloth. I will usually sand to around 180grit on open grained timber such as oak and up to 320G on finer grained timbers such as Maple.

jon

 

[p111dom]

I tend to dust them off with an air line then tack cloth them off. Some people call them tack rags.

 

[Bassbear81]

Thanks. will have to get some.

Will a damp cloth work?

 

[RobertMP]

I bought tack cloths too but I did read somewhere that you can make varnish very thin, dip a stockinette cloth in and wring it out practically dry to make your own. It will work until fully loaded with dust or exposed to the air long enough to cure so keep it in a plastic bag.

Like I said not tried it but it sounded plausible

Water on a cloth will raise the grain so probably not a good idea unless you are using a water based finish I would think.

 

[Ironballs]

I get the bulk off with a dry cloth, then tack cloth it. Will often sand to 400 grit, though I think you have to be careful with some finishes as you can sand so smooth the finish has difficulty adhering

 

[Racers]

Hi,

The best way is not to sand in the first place, a nice sharpe plane or a scraper will leave a really good finish. My Xmas chairs have just seen sand paper for the first time today between the second and third coats of Danish oil.

 

[Grinding One]

Whats the best way to make sure all wood is free from dust before oiling?

What grade sand paper do people finish with before oiling?

A room dedicated to finish would be nice....
A clean shop is best to start off with as you moving around it will raise dust,I used to spray water on the walls of the spray booth so anything on walls or floor stayed there till I was done.I tacked till nothing was visible to touch or on the tack cloth.A good vacumm removes a lot of dust as well