another noob question, Whiskering..

[bob243]

I did search this and found some info on what to use.. I am using scotchbrite pads and denatured alcohol. I got some of the white (finest #7445 and grey (3rd finest #6448)

I am not really sure what I am supposed to be seeing. I put the alcohol on a cloth and wet down part of the stock, and let it dry. Then the stock has a slight rough feeling to it, then I rub it with the scotch bright pad and it becomes extremely smooth. How many times should I be doing this? What should I be looking for? (This is maple btw.. )

Thanks
Bob

 

[grey8833]

Bob243:
Whiskering raises up the fractured ends of the wood grain you broke up when you sanded the stock. Whiskering with water (what I use on maple) brings all them little broken ends up so they can be cut off with very fine sand paper (400 grit or better) and finally with steel wool. I would say that three to four whiskerings should do it - but it really does not take long for the water to dry and the ends to raise. Keep doing it until they don't raise up. Small investment in time and effort and it gives the wood a polished surface that takes the finish without blotching.

Mike

 

[rich pierce]

agree with Mike, water works better to raise the grain.

 

[bob243]

Thank you for the replies, I will give it a try with water..
Just regular tap water ok?

The sand paper wont push the grain back down?
I am concerned about getting rust spots (speckles), and couldn't find brass wool, so are the scotch bright pads ok?




Bob

 

[Zonie]

Thank you for the replies, I will give it a try with water..
Just regular tap water ok?

The sand paper wont push the grain back down?
I am concerned about getting rust spots (speckles), and couldn't find brass wool, so are the scotch bright pads ok?
_____________________
Good questions.
The following are my answers, and may not agree with some of the other folks. They are based on experience though.

Plain old tap water will work just fine. In fact, some of the better stains are alcohol instead of water based simply because alcohol does not raise the grain very well.

Yes, if you use too fine of sandpaper, it will just mash the little raised whiskers back down where they came from. The trick here is to use a sandpaper that is course and sharp enough to cut off the whiskers. I've found that the red "garnet" paper in 220 grit works very well.

When the grain is raised, you will notice that if you gently rub the wood in one direction it is very rough. If it is rubbed in the other direction it is slightly bumpy, but it doesn't try to "grab" your fingers with its whiskers.

Using brand new 220 grit sandpaper after the surface of the wood is dry, gently sand in the direction that was very rough. That will allow the paper to cut off the whiskers without pushing them back down into the wood.

The idea here is to cut off the whiskers, not to remove any surface wood, so go easy with this.

After sanding, repeat the wetting, drying and sanding process. After 2 (and sometimes 3) sandings, you will find that wetting the wood will produce few if any new whiskers.

If there is any chance that you are going to use a water or alcohol based stain after whiskering, do not use steel wool.
Steel wool is notorious for leaving bits of itself in the open pores of the wood, and these will create thousands of little rust spots on the wood when the water wets them. Some of the alcohol stains also contain some water and it too will cause the steel wool fibers to rust.

If you are not going to stain the wood, or if you are going to use one of those oil based stains that I detest, the steel wool will not cause any problems.

Have fun!
zonie

 

[bob243]

Thank you, exactly what I was hopeing for. I will give it a shot this afternoon and post how I make out.

Alcohol used because of it not raising the grain seems to explain why it didnt seem like I was doing anything.. :redface:

I have some magic maple, LMF, Danglers, and AF I am not sure which one I am using yet, I am still trying to figure out the color, but I dont think any of those are oil based.

Thanks Again for the help
Bob

 

[tg]

I like to use a hair dryer to hasten the drying of the stock between sandings.

 

[Zonie]

Hair dryers and hot air paint removers (on low) are good!

bob243: All of the stains you mention are either water, acid or alcohol based so do not use steel wool on your stock prior to the staining of it.

After staining, when your applying the oil coating steel wool can be used without any problems.
zonie

 

[bob243]

The water worked much better..

I ended up using the grey, then the white scotchbrite pads, I seemed to be able to get a better feel for what I was doing. but after five times, it is very smooth.


I tried my colors on the barrel inlet, and I have it down to Magic Maple or Danglers red-brown. Kinda leaning towards the magic maple as it seems to have alot more 3D effect to it. But I will wait till tomorow to see it in the sun.

 

[Zonie]

Let us know how it turns out.
My experience with Magic Maple was, shall we say, less than satisfying to the point that I re sanded the whole stock.
Different strokes for different folks, I guess.
zonie

 

[bob243]

After letting it go over night and looking at it in the sunlight, I am pretty much set on the Danglers redish brown. It seems to be a red wine color in normal day light but turns a medium brown color in direct sunlight. Looks pretty neat.

The Magic Maple just got really dark and seemed to hide the curl.

 

[bob243]

Well, I put the color on. It was nothing like my test piece. I am hopeing I did it right, it came out alot darker than I was expecting, and it dried to the point where I was able to hold it and not get any on my hand in less than a minute. At first it looked like I completely hid the grain but now it looks like the grain and the curl is starting to come out. Is this normal? or did I mess up

 

[Zonie]

If you want to lighten it a bit, and to see exactly what it will look like after you've oiled the stock, get a moderately wet wash rag and wipe the stock down. Do this outside in the sunlight to see what the true finished color will look like.

The wet rag will not remove a lot of the stain, just the stuff on the surface that hasn't soaked in.

zonie

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

FWIW bronze wool works great!

 

[bob243]

Sounds great, I will give it a try. (it's dark out now so I will have to wait till tomorow am

 

[bob243]

Where would I find bronze or brass wool? I checked a couple places and didnt find it..

 

[ricklandes]

Brownells carries bronze wool I use the medium and fine.
You may want to lightly sand your stain before trying the water trick Zonie mentioned.

I like to try the stain full and duluted on a scrap piece and then I sand the stained piece down and then do the water trick. This helps determine degree of color. This post staining sanding will help to light spots to show more and give a nice finish in the end. I also like to burnish my stocks before staining. I have a highly polished antler tip that I gently rub over all of the stock prior to stain application. Silky smooth and very easy to do.

I also like to take a very bright light and sight down the edges of the stock looking for any irregularities in the surface. This is the last chance to fix any thing that might have been missed that will be highlighted (and not in the good way) by the stain/finish