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Coloring Finishing And Painting Wood
Some of these particles are more or less loose after sanding, and swell up and stiffen as a result of sponging and drying, and become the fuzz that can be felt on a sponged board after it has dried. The fuzziness on the surface of wood that has been moistened can largely be removed by resanding with fine sandpaper. The best results are secured by using 2/0, 3/0, or even 4/0 sandpaper over a block, as described in the first sanding operation.
Careful use of sandpaper, using long full strokes lengthwise of the grain, leaves the surface in a very smooth condition. Sponging, and resanding a second time very slightly improve the surfaces of some kinds of wood, but not enough usually to pay for the trouble. Sponging and resanding are always necessary if water stains are used because these operations prevent the stain from raising the grain or fuzz. If stains that do not contain water are used in the finish, the sponging and resanding operations are usually omitted on account of the cost of the extra work required.
Excessive use of water in sponging, and excessive pressure on the sandpaper, should both be avoided on veneered work, or spots may be cut through which cannot be repaired without re-veneering. Veneer is thin, being ordinarily about 1/20" in thickness, and part of this is always removed in the first sanding operation. Hard pressure and coarse sandpaper should never be used in smoothing veneered wood.
12. Dust Sanded Surfaces.—The last operation in the preparation of the surface of wood should be a thorough dusting with a stiff bristle brush that will remove all dust and broken fragments and much of the sand from the pores of the wood. The brushes commonly used for this purpose arc called picking brushes. If the wood is to be filled with wood-filler, the dusting operation is of considerable importance, because it cleans the surface and opens up the cavities of the cells or pores; and, at the same time, it removes any loose gum or other waste matter6 that may have been left in the cell lumina as end-products of food growth or digestion. Picking brushes should be used on open-grained woods for dusting, but close-grained woods that require no filler may be dusted with any coarse dusting-brush.
Dust will settle on any article in a few hours' time; consequently every piece of wood should be dusted just before any wood-finishing process is started, and just before any later coat is applied.
