Dust Removal

[Jerry Bruette]

What's the preferred method of removing sanding dust from a project after the final sanding and before the first coat of finish?

I'm thinking blowing with compressed air or vacuuming using a brush on the shop vac hose. Do I run a risk of contamination by using the compressed air?

Jerry

[Joe Shinall]

You do run the risk of getting condensation on the piece which can raise the grain and cause need for more sanding. But above all, I don't think it does a great job at getting the fine stuff off.

I use tack cloths. Buy em in 2 packs from Lowe's and I can reuse them sometimes if using on small projects. Fold it up and use one side then stick in a ziploc and use again on the next one.

I actually used painters tape before I found tack cloths. It worked pretty well but used a lot of it on big projects.

[Scott Holmes]

I don't waste money on tack clothes for a few reasons.

1. I don't know what's on them and don't want to leave anything behind.
2. They don't get all the dust as well as my method.
3. I'm cheap.

I use an old tee-shirt damp with mineral spirits. It works better than a tack clothe (IMHO) because it also shows me any milling or glue flaws BEFORE the finish gets applied.

[Jim Rimmer]

I don't waste money on tack clothes for a few reasons.

1. I don't know what's on them and don't want to leave anything behind.
2. They don't get all the dust as well as my method.
3. I'm cheap.

I use an old tee-shirt damp with mineral spirits. It work better than a tack clothe (IMHO) because it also shows me any milling or glue flaws BEFORE the finish gets applied.
I use the MS method as well for the same reasons.

[Tony Bilello]

I use a foxtail brush to get the big stuff off. Then I blowdown with the air compressor and finally soak a rag in lacquer thinner and give a final wipe.
I use lacquer thinner because it flashes off quickly and I have a lot of it around.

[Scott Holmes]

I've used lacquer thinner too. I never seem to wear gloves and the lacquer thinner is too "hot" for my hands.

[Jerry Bruette]

Would the laquer thinner or mineral spirits cause Padauk to bleed into Maple?

Really don't want to deal with that kind of mess.
Jerry

[del schisler]

Would the laquer thinner or mineral spirits cause Padauk to bleed into Maple?

Really don't want to deal with that kind of mess.
Jerry

I don't thank so. I belive padauk is a oily wood that is probly what caused the red to bleed. I have used padauk nice wood. I belive i would use lacquer thinner only. I use it all the time. Like was mention it flashies quick clean's and leve's no oily resedue behind

[Tony Bilello]

Would the laquer thinner or mineral spirits cause Padauk to bleed into Maple?

Yes, a little but you are going to sand it down anyway after gluing. If you are going directly to finishing, just settle for a brush down and a blow down. This will also happen with just about any contrasting woods especially walnut.
WARNING: Dont wash clothes with padouk dust on them with your normal laundry load. All whites will be pink and there ain't no going back.

[Joe Shinall]

Plus 1 for the mineral spirits and forget what I said about tack cloths.

Never thought about it the way Scott put it and I tried some MS on a cloth diaper last night on a keepsake box I just sanded and it worked great. No more tack cloths here.