Wet Sanding

[dogcatcher]

I was slumming on an artsy fartsy site and ran across a discussion on sanding and what grits everyone was sanding up to.  One person, a pretty well respected turner said that he wets the wood at the 320 grit level and that it raises the grain enough that you really do not need to go past 600 grit.  I was wondering if anyone had tried or is using this technique.  I haven't had a chance to try this method, but I will later this weekend.  Tomorrow is already a fully scheduled day with a varmint contest to go to.

Marvin

[BigB]

Good topic Marvin.  I've been kind of wandering about this as well.  I started wet sanding after Al helped me out with some stuff.

It kind of depends on the wood for me if I wet sand or not.  I primarly have been working lately with hedge and cocobolo.  More times than not, I won't wet sand the hedge.  But when I do the cocobolo, I usually start out with 240 grit and smooth everything out with it dry, and then when I am about to toss that peice of sandpaper away, I'll wet sand with it until I get a good coat of slurry mixed into the wood.  I'll repeat that process using 320 grit, 400 grit, and 600 grit.  After the 600 grit, I may or may not use the EEE stuff on the blank.  It usually depends on the mood that I am in at the time ;D and the end finish that I am going to use.

[dogcatcher]

That is not what they were talking about doing.  They were just dampening the wood with a damp rag and the wood would dry in just a few minutes.   Using a slurry to fill pores is not what they were doing.  They were just barely dampening the wood and saying it helped to raise the wood grain so that the sanding marks were easier to sand out on the next grit.

I see how the method could possibly work based on raising dents in wood by using a damp cloth and a source of heat.  I know that works, but I was wondering if anyone was using this method of sanding.

As to the filling of the pores of the wood. that is something I do not normally do.  I think it detracts from the look of the wood.  I know that most of the callmakers do it, but I do not see that much of it done in other woodworking.  Call me old school or hard headed but I just don't think the pores of the wood need to be filled in to get a great finish.  To me the pores of the wood add character to the overall finished project.

Marvin

[BigB]

So Marvin, were they sanding right after they dampened the wood, or were they sanding after the water dried?  And were they doing that on every grit??  What kinds of woods were they doing that on?  I may have to go and try it to see what happens.

Brian

[dogcatcher]

They did not go into much detail, from what I gathered they let the wood dry then sand the next higher grit.  Then would dampen the wood again let it dry then sand again with the next grit. 

Marvin

[dogcatcher]

Without copying copyrighted work see if this makes sense.  I took what info I could and changed it a little.

If noticeable scratches appear after 200 grit it is most likely dirty sand paper.  Wetting and wiping between grits raises the grain and more importantly cleans any debris off the surface. Throw out the sand paper before it becomes clogged, use it as if your enemy is paying for it.  Much past 600 grit on most woods is burnishing the fiber and will tend to resist finish penetration.

Marvin

[Al_at_THO Game Calls]

It's called Whiskering.  Dampening the wood causeses the wood fibers to lift up so they can be cut off with the next grit.

Reversing the direction of sanding also helps a lot when dampening the wood because you cut the fibers from the opposite direction.

Yes I do use a damp rag to wet the wood when sanding.  However, now that I am using a CA glue finish, I don't think it does much because the wood is pretty sealed after 220 grit but the water wipes it down and I doubt it hurts.

Al @ THO