3m gold sandpaper...stearated?

[John Coloccia]

Anyone know for sure if 3M gold has stearates or if it uses a something different. I'm wondering about fish eyes and waterborne finishes.

[Clisby Clark]

I'm pretty sure it is considered a stearated paper. That being said, both Jeff Weiss at Target Coatings and Jeff Jewitt at Homestead Finishing are on record as saying that using high quality-and the Gold is top notch-stearated papers won't cause damage under waterbornes. I believe Jewitt has an article in FWW of testing he did and had no issues. I've read to lightly wipe down after sanding with 50/50 mix of water and denatured alcohol after sanding to get all the dust. Do not use any kind of commercially available tack cloths as some contain stuff that doesn't play well with waterbornes (now I'm getting all tecnical on you). Good luck

[Scott Holmes]

I have never had a finishing issue using stearate paper. I don't use water and alcohol to wipe down the wood. I use denatured alcohol, mineral spirits or water...

I have had problems when a construction site cleaning crew used swiffers on my wood!