raising "whiskers"

[Aaron Beaver]

I mostly use water based stains and water based pol-urethanes due to the fact they have less smell, clean up easier, basement shop, etc. Anyway...

...How early can I raise the grain to get the whiskers to come up. Can I do it before I start sanding at all or wait until the last grade I end up sanding with?

[Byron Trantham]

I use a mister bottle to pre-wet the wood, let it dry, sand with 320 and then apply WB dye or what ever. Sometimes after applying the first material it will happen again and I just sand it again with 320.

[Steve Schoene]

Grain raising is best done after you are finished with the sanding. After you raise the grain then you only sand very lightly to just barely remove the fuzz. Too much and there will be more grain to raise when you apply the dye.

[Jim Becker]

It's also a good idea to use distilled water for this process. One jug will last a long time, too.

[Aaron Beaver]

Thanks for the tips guys, I wish I didn't have to do it all but I guess thats part of the price you pay for using water based stains. I liked oil based better just don't like the clean up or storage/diposing of rags etc.

Thanks again

[Hal Flynt]

A big ditto on Jim's advice on distilled water. DAMHIKT

[Fred Voorhees]

It's also a good idea to use distilled water for this process. One jug will last a long time, too.

I'll bite Jim,,,,why distilled water?? Purer?

[Howard Acheson]

>> why distilled water?? Purer

I contains no minerals or metals that can cause a reaction with the tannin in the wood.

[Larry Browning]

>> why distilled water?? Purer

I contains no minerals or metals that can cause a reaction with the tannin in the wood.
In some places (like where I live) the water right out of the tap works just fine. It seems to have no bad effects at all. Your best bet is to test it on some scrap and complete ALL finishing steps to see what the final finish will look like.

[Mike Glaze]

I mostly use water based stains and water based pol-urethanes due to the fact they have less smell, clean up easier, basement shop, etc. Anyway...

...How early can I raise the grain to get the whiskers to come up. Can I do it before I start sanding at all or wait until the last grade I end up sanding with?

Aaron Beaver

I have a Fine Woodworking magazine finishing book that helped me with this very thing. It was a collection of finishing articles put out in book form. I read this around 18 or so years ago. Whiskers are hard to get rid of with just sanding alone because the sandpaper pushes the whiskers down and one of the articles suggested to wet the wood, let it dry and use steel wool after sanding to remove the whiskers because the steel wool will pull them out of the wood. I tried it and it works great.

Where did I use this information: I painted alot of high end guitars with flamed/quilted maple tops that I stained with aniline stains. I would sand the guitars, then wet the wood to raise the grain/whiskers, let it dry, then using a fine grade of steel wool I would go over the the guitar with the steel wool to remove the whiskers(I would repeat the wetting of the wood and drying with going over the wood with steel wood several times). I also would soak the steel wool I used in thinner to removed any oils on the steel wool and let the steel wool dry before I used it.

Once this was done I would blow off the guitar with compressed air and wipe it off with a tack rag. Then I could start staining the guitar with aniline stains(do not used water based for this) and clear coat the guitar after it had dried.

It's a process that requires a small book, but you get the idea.

Mike

[Scott Parks]

I typically use water base finish. I hate sanding numerous times. So, I usually don't even bother sanding. First, I shoot it with a sealer, thinned 50%, which raises the grain. Then I sand, finish with another coat of sealer, non thinned, then top coat. I'm not a pro, but this works for me, and I don't have to sand numerous times.....

[Jim Becker]

I typically use water base finish. I hate sanding numerous times. So, I usually don't even bother sanding. First, I shoot it with a sealer, thinned 50%, which raises the grain. Then I sand, finish with another coat of sealer, non thinned, then top coat. I'm not a pro, but this works for me, and I don't have to sand numerous times.....

Ditto!! (Some folks do the same with NC lacquers, too...seal any "whiskers" with vinyl sealer and then knock them off before a second coat of sealer.