Keeping Sapwood Clean

[Edward Weingarden]

I recently turned a piece of green walnut which included some sapwood. Before completing the piece, the sapwood was getting "dirty" from heartwood shavings/dust. Is there anything I can do, before sanding, to keep the sapwood "clean"? Thanks.

[Pat Scott]

If you're going to twice turn the bowl, don't worry about it. It might look dirty now, but when it dries and you re-turn it you'll be fine.

[Dick Strauss]

After returning, it helps if you blow it off with compressed air and seal the sapwood pores before and during the sanding process.

[Edward Weingarden]

It's a hollow form that's been completed; I'm just waiting for it to dry before sanding. Is it too late to get it "clean"?

[Pat Scott]

I think you'll still be ok. Like Dick says, blow it off in between grits is a good idea. I've never had sapwood permanently discolor from the heartwood.

[hu lowery]

It's a hollow form that's been completed; I'm just waiting for it to dry before sanding. Is it too late to get it "clean"?



If you have heartwood smears into your sapwood after you are through final turning you are probably stuck with it. Sanding sealer of some type before sanding, maybe before final turning if you are riding the bevel pretty hard and burnishing, is the only solution I know of. This and sap stains were two things making me crazy in my earliest days of turning. The only cure I ever found was prevention before it happened.

Something I would try now is a freshly rolled, not ground, burr on a cabinet or card scraper. I don't know if it would work and care would have to be taken to not lose the fairness of the turning. Very fine particles of heartwood are embedded in the sapwood and cutting them away is the only thing I have had success with. Perhaps stabilizing them with sanding sealer and sanding with fresh sharp sandpaper will work, never worked for me but everyone's mileage may vary. Seems like it could work. It would mean starting with a pretty low grit, maybe eighty or one-twenty. You want to cut away the heartwood dust and too fine of sandpaper will just push some in deeper as you cut other particles away. Sharp fairly coarse paper and light pressure offer the best chance of success trying to sand the stain away I believe.

Hu

[Edward Weingarden]

Thanks for the feedback. Most of the staining was removed after sanding. Overall, it looks pretty good.