Fingerprints from new Hickory project

[steve siegrist]

Well . . . I did it. I picked up a matched pair of Hickory end panels I just finished final sanding and carried them to my staging area for finishing. I set them down and to my dismay found an exact impression of all four fingers of my right hand. Then I remembered brushing my forehead of fine dust just before picking the panels up. Any suggestions on removal? I can apply cornstarch and re-sand - but wondered what other ideas might work?

[Jim Rimmer]

Maybe try wiping with mineral spirits.

[glenn bradley]

Maybe try wiping with mineral spirits.

That would be my first reaction too.

[Andy Pratt]

I'm assuming you haven't applied any finish/stain at this point. I had the same "sweat can really do that, crap!" moment and found that wiping with mineral spirits or denatured alchol (not sure which) completely solved the problem, which made me very happy at the time. Other times I have found that it disappeared with the finish/stain and one time during courses of topcoat it even went away by rubbing (after a coat dried) with my finger over the affected area, not sure how that worked.

[Roger Rayburn]

Rubbing alcohol does a really good job lifting marks and drying skin oils, so does acetone. Good that you caught it.

[steve siegrist]

Thanks guys for the suggestions - I'm going to try the mineral spirits first. Yes, it was freshly sanded with no stain or finish yet. Learned another lesson in my woodworking adventures!

[Roger Rayburn]

Come back and let us know what works. Things like that are good to file away. Maybe you can submit to some magazines and win a prize.