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Cellulose sanding sealer question

G

Gretch Flo

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Jun 9, 2004
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Haslett, Michigan
I am starting a new thread on this previous topic as I don't want to get my question lost.
I have been turning some awesome ambrosia maple (a soft maple-not dried but not soaking wet either-tree and blanks cut in sept/oct)). The darker wood pigmented heart wood is a little punkier than surrounding wood and really sucks up the Danish oil finish, while the surrounding wood gets too shiny.
So I tried Mylands sanding sealer and apply after 200 or 300 grit. Then resand with last grit and proceed to 400, then 600, using mineral oil for wet sanding.
I think I like this. The Danish oil doesn't soak in as much and requires less coats to get to where I want it to look.
As mentioned in a previous thread and agreeing with Donn B I like a satin softish (ie not plastic!!!) finish that can be washed multiple times without change and look like it did when first obtained. The danish oil does that-different woods gobble alot such as sycamore or London Plane. My question is now that I use less coats, will it last??? I got confused with Flexners Wood Finishing saying that sanding sealers reduce durability, because of mineral soap./ Mylands doesn't say what it has in it, not that I would understand that factor would do!!! For example I made a London Plane large salad bowl for my daughter's mother-in-law 4-5 years ago. Several coats of Danish oil. After multiple uses it got dull so I applied several more coats and hand buffing with synthetic steel wool, and I have heard no "complaints" . I just completed a beautifully spalted small London Plane platter and used sanding sealer. Only needed 2 coats of Danish oil and it is perfect-fair shine. BUT WILL IT LAST???? Gretch
 
Can't answer your can it last questions because my bowls are primarily non user bowls. I use lacquer thinned 50/50 with lacquer thinner instead of sanding sealer. Partly because sanding sealer has stearates in it and partly because I already have the lacquer so I don't need to buy anything else. Thinned lacquer serves the same function for me that sanding sealer would. It firms up punky wood, fills end grain, and helps seal the wood for other thicker coats of lacquer.
 
There's varnish, thinned varnish, and reallythinned varnish. The second is "wiping" or "X finish," the third is "Danish." It's solids that make a surface, so stepping up to one of the wipe-on or tung/antique oil "finishes" will condition the surface more rapidly than Danish. Nothing says you have to build a surface finish, or if you do, that you can't use a Tripoli buff to cut the gloss. I use wipe-on poly and scuff the shine back after coat three for salad bowls. That way the salad oil they use doesn't get a lot of chance to penetrate, but can be wiped out before it collects other things and looks dull. I recommend a vinegar wipe before use to kill any nasties. Acid is a good antibacterial.

I'm a bit concerned about your use of mineral oil for a lube. It doesn't cure, so you might be setting yourself up for a problem on a warm day even with the lacquer seal. Why not use the Danish as it's own sanding lube? That way you won't have spare oil oozing up if you set the thing in the sun.

Not sure what went with the MiL bowl. Could be as simple as your not making a couple of fuzz sets with water before finishing. Water might have gotten in and raised the fuzz, or the oil she used collected some dirt as it laid on the surface. Non-curing oils and all.

BTW, the so-called "synthetic steel wool" is just grit-impregnated plastic mesh. If you want the surface that steel wool, which planes rather than scratches can give, you've got to use it instead. Better choice than the "ssw" is a sanding sponge. All of the flexibility and more grit, so the scratches will be closer together, and therefore less visible.
 
Danish oil makes for a good wet sanding lubricant. I do this frequently. Whether the bowl remains slightly glossy or turns flat after use depends on a lot of factors. How it is used and how it is washed are a big part of that. People don’t realize that it isn’t necessary to scrub the heck out of a wood salad bowl. No matter what you do, eventually it is going to dull if it is getting used for food.

I use Mylands too, when I want a little higher shine, but you have to realized that it isn’t penetrating the raw wood as deeply as the Danish oil. It is sealing the pores and preventing penetration of other products. You can reverse the process and applying Mylands over the Danish oil, then wet sand it out with Danish. Just be sure to give the oil plenty of time to cure out before applying the Mylands; usually a week in my environment and sometimes two.

My Danish process is to really soak the wood. I’m talking – poor it on and swirl it around, leave it wet like this for fifteen minutes adding more if it is absorbed, then wipe it off. I then wipe it every fifteen minutes of half hour as it sits for the first day. The second day I do this again; usually much less oil is absorbed on this second application. It then takes a week or two to cure out and I’m left with a nice matte wood surface over which I can now add other treatments. Sometimes I sand out the second wet coat of oil and this acts a little like a French polish, filling the pores with fine oily sanding goo. This works well on dark porous wood but you have to be careful on litter woods because it will muddy the surface.

- Scott
 
finishes

"I'm a bit concerned about your use of mineral oil for a lube. It doesn't cure, so you might be setting yourself up for a problem on a warm day even with the lacquer seal. Why not use the Danish as it's own sanding lube? That way you won't have spare oil oozing up if you set the thing in the sun."

I had that occur when using min oil only as a "finish" years ago (when sun made it "weep")-haven't seen that problem using the min oil as a wet sander, and then the Danish. I have even put it above the mantel when wood stove very hot and no change. The min oil I get is half the cost of Danish oil. Also it isn't as messy on the lathe and chucks, etc, as it doesn;t leave a "coat" that hardens.



"BTW, the so-called "synthetic steel wool" is just grit-impregnated plastic mesh. If you want the surface that steel wool, which planes rather than scratches can give, you've got to use it instead. Better choice than the "ssw" is a sanding sponge. All of the flexibility and more grit, so the scratches will be closer together, and therefore less visible.[/QUOTE]"

I have always hated steel wool when the filings fall into crevices. I use wood with bark, cracks, etc. I don't have comp air in the shop, and I also do alot of the in between coat buffings in my living room. More of a mess. Just my opinion😀 Gretch
 
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