# Wet sanding vs Dry sanding?



## bcoyne (Jan 13, 2009)

What are the thoughts as to which is better? What advantages?

I normally dry sand thru 600, mm 1500 to 3200, Apply 6 coats of CA, then finish off with mm 3600 to 12,000. 

Would wet sanding add to my finish or make my process shorter?

I get a nice finish now, but always room for improvements.

Thanks all


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## jkeithrussell (Jan 13, 2009)

I wet sand after applying CA finish (through MM process) and throughout the sanding process when working with acrylics, resins, antlers, etc. 

This is like asking which is better between chocolate and vanilla ice cream, and you are sure to get a variety of responses. Experiment and do what works best for you.


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## jttheclockman (Jan 13, 2009)

Wet sand acrylics and dry sand wood. Wet sand a CA finish or lacquer.


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## alphageek (Jan 13, 2009)

jttheclockman said:


> Wet sand acrylics and dry sand wood. Wet sand a CA finish or lacquer.



Yep.. what he said.  (I've not done lacquer, but agree on the rest).


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## Druid (Jan 13, 2009)

Yup yup, agree with what they said :biggrin:


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## marcruby (Jan 13, 2009)

I agree with everyone else.

Marc


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## george (Jan 14, 2009)

I also agree with the above comments. I get nicer CA finish with wet sanding.


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## CharlestonPenWorks (Jan 15, 2009)

I had never wet sanded with MM until last night and it gives a great finish!! Thanks for the idea.


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## Munsterlander (Jan 16, 2009)

OK, I know I'm not the only person wondering this - wet sanding on CA with MM - do you use the pads or the sheets?  How do you actually do it?  Drop or two on the barrel and then sand, or something else?  Thanks...


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## NewLondon88 (Jan 16, 2009)

Munsterlander said:


> OK, I know I'm not the only person wondering this - wet sanding on CA with MM - do you use the pads or the sheets?  How do you actually do it?  Drop or two on the barrel and then sand, or something else?  Thanks...



I keep one set of MM in a bucket of water and take them out when I need
them or when it's time to clean them with a toothbrush or fingernail brush.

When wet sanding, I cover the lathe bed with a towel to keep the water
off of the ways. We're WET sanding, not moist sanding. The pads will
be dripping.

Wet sanding seems to give me a smoother finish, and it DEFINITELY saves 
the pads from getting burn spots. 

I use the 3x4? sheets with the backing sponge for the early grades, then
with just my fingers in the higher grades. This allows me to feel the wood
surface under the MM as well as feel any heat building up. The water
helps keep the heat down (or at least dispersed) but you still want to be 
able to feel it.

I also sand dry for woods, wet for plastics, CA and metals.


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## bcoyne (Jan 16, 2009)

*Great results - wet sanding*

I tried this on 4 pens last night. What a finish! It was so easy. 

"Really do not know until you ask someone something, then just try"

One pen was for an account of my. I nice stateman from CS made with Bocote. Even my kids could not believe the improvement to the look. They are 8 and 11 and could tell the improvement.

Thanks everyone.

Happy and wet.

Bob


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## TellicoTurning (Jan 17, 2009)

Munsterlander said:


> OK, I know I'm not the only person wondering this - wet sanding on CA with MM - do you use the pads or the sheets?  How do you actually do it?  Drop or two on the barrel and then sand, or something else?  Thanks...



Like Charlie, I keep my MM (I use the little pads sold by PSI) in a cool whip container of water, cover the ways of the lathe, then set the container under the blank... I dip the pads in water frequently to keep them very wet while I sand... wipe off the blank with a damp paper towel between grits.


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## PaulDoug (Jan 17, 2009)

I wet sand my CA with MM.  I have had a couple occasions when water has gotten under the CA at the ends.  Now I dip the ends of the blank in thin CA before I start applying the CA to the rest of the blank.


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## Tn-Steve (Jan 19, 2009)

I did my first CA finish for real tonight, using the BLO technique. I kept the paper towel with the BLO working back and forth for the last of the 3 coats, and it was a very deep gloss, no scratches or ridges (looked like my inspection boots from the Army  )

Then I hit it with all the grades of MM, (that may have been my first mistake), dunking them and making sure that they were dripping.  I sanded very lightly, but the final result, while nice, wasn't as nice as what I had started with.  I hit it with some plastic polish on the lathe and a touch of Huts Crystal way (the liquid type), and it looked better, but still not as good as where I started.  

I would sure like to know here I went wrong... too much MM, too Little, Too Easy, Too Hard.  I suspect it's like spit-shining boots, everybody has his/her own feel, and it's hard to explain, but if anybody is game, I'd appreciate any advice.

I've got the pen posted over in "Show off your pens" as "Mandatory First Pen Post".   This isn't an attempt to hijack the thread, it seemed like the logical place for it rather than start the Th thread on the subject.

Thanks,

Steve


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## hughbie (Jan 20, 2009)

jttheclockman said:


> Wet sand acrylics and dry sand wood. Wet sand a CA finish or lacquer.


 this process gets my nod as well.....you been watching me?


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## GouletPens (Jan 25, 2009)

I've always dry sanded. I keep the MM very clean with the air hose and blow it out every 20-30 seconds. I've never tried wet sanding, I'll have to give it a shot. I'd be a little concerned about doing it on CA over wood, b/c any water with wood concerns me. But for acrylics it seems harmless.:befuddled:


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## Rudy Vey (Jan 25, 2009)

I used to wet sand all my acrylics, but then some three/four years ago we had a discussion here what is better and some did only dry sanding. I tried it and the results are the same as my wet sanding was before. The only problem is that with dry sanding you can easily overheat and you might get some residue ridges when your MM is dirty. The benefit is that you have no water splashing around the lathe ways.


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## jttheclockman (Jan 25, 2009)

Rudy Vey said:


> I used to wet sand all my acrylics, but then some three/four years ago we had a discussion here what is better and some did only dry sanding. I tried it and the results are the same as my wet sanding was before. The only problem is that with dry sanding you can easily overheat and you might get some residue ridges when your MM is dirty. The benefit is that you have no water splashing around the lathe ways.




I will expand on my answer a little because I am such a new turner I can freshly see what things I have found and tried. Rudy mentioned dry sanding and I did that and like he said you have to be very careful because you get through that thin layer of CA in a hurry. Then I reverted back to my finishing ways that I use for flat work and some of my scrollsawn pieces and that was to use a lubricant to ease the sanding procedure. In that case I always use Formby's lemon oil. After reading people's thoughts here I tried the water and that is the way to go at least for me. What I do not do is get the, and I am using the MM pads,  soak and wet. Just wet enough by dipping in a jar. So there is no spalshing. The splashing I get is from using a scratch remover as the next to the last step. I am too lazy to shut the lathe off and apply it. HE HE 


The thing about not looking as good as when first applied. I can address that also because what I noticed was after the final coat of CA I would go right into the MM work. Using water as the lubricant I noticed that the CA was fogging or turning a bit cloudy underneath. What I do now is wait till the CA is cured and that can be as little as an hour or even the next day. What I do is take the blank off the lathe and set it on a drying rack I made using some 1/4" dowels to support. Then the next day or later on that day I will do a bunch of them together. No more cloudy. Again I reverted back to my other finishing techniques because I use laquer alot and that needs to be cured before you final finish it or the same thing happens. 


The last part about applying CA with blo. I have found it not to be necessarry at all. I use blo to ehance the grain before I apply CA.(ON wood blanks only) I coat the blank with blo and then wipe dry. Wait an hour and then wipe the blank down with a quick swipe of acetone. Then start my CA process. I use the thin CA. Dries faster. 

These are what have been working for me at this time. Maybe the more I do this I will change things and if I read someone has come up with a better method I may try it. That is my 2 cents.


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## RussFairfield (Jan 26, 2009)

Wet sanding won't make it go faster, but it will give a higher gloss because the lubricant makes the grit particles act like they are a smaller size; and oil or wax will make a finer sacratch pattern than water.


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## GouletPens (Jan 26, 2009)

Boy, Russ. You must feel strongly about that since you've posted it twice:wink:


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## bcoyne (Jan 29, 2009)

Since I started this thread, time to add  to. 
I do my CA finish very much like John T. I have gotten some clouding effect, then noted the temp of my shop. Below 65 F. I live in KS and my shop is in the basement. Used a small space heater to get the temp up over 70 F. No problems since. 

I finish off with Renaissance wax


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