# wet sanding



## CHICAGOHAND (Sep 14, 2008)

A question for those who use micro mesh on "wood" pens. After you apply your finish such as CA or Poly do you wet sand such as I do with all my acrylics or not ?


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## wdcav1952 (Sep 14, 2008)

Dave, I believe it is a personal choice.  I use micro mesh on wood and acrylic.  I never use it wet.  Part of the reason is the potential for mess, but I have never felt the need to wet the micro mesh.

FWIW,


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## KenV (Sep 14, 2008)

I use a very fine shear scrape to be sure I have a level surface and have used wet sanding.  I have tended to follow the YoYo Spin (Ed Davidson) advise to dry sand wood and wet sand plastic/resin surfaces and CA is more plastic than wood.


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## fiferb (Sep 14, 2008)

I also use MM on both wood and acrylic but I don't wet sand on either.


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## IPD_Mrs (Sep 14, 2008)

Same here as with Bruce and Cav.  No need to go wet if you clear your MM and not let it build up and if you use some sort of plastic polish/fine scratch remove which is liquid in nature.

Mike


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## igran7 (Sep 14, 2008)

I only use MM wet, but not on bare wood.  On wood BLO first, then CA then MM to 12,000 wet.


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## JimB (Sep 14, 2008)

I'm glad to see this topic as I was wondering the same thing. I was just doing the MM dry and then tried a couple wet. I do use HUT plastic polish at the end. I didn't see any difference between the wet and dry MM.


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## CHICAGOHAND (Sep 14, 2008)

Thanks for the replys so far, I had at one time helped a friend, who had an auto body shop paint a few cars and after we got past 220 grit if I remember it was all wet sanding from there.
It helped keep the paper from clogging. I know we dont wet sand bare wood it is the finish we are sanding. He taught me that anything after 220 grit is not seen by the human eye but I find that to be false . I was just curious as to what others were doing. I believe wet sanding would keep the micro mesh free from cloging and give better finish.


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## rherrell (Sep 14, 2008)

I would NEVER wet sand CA on a wood pen. The water would certainly find the wood and that's "not tooo guuuud!". I MM all my wood pens before applying CA and I use compressed air to blow it and the wood clean after every grit. I use medium CA only, no BLO, and I sand with 600 grit W/D paper(used dry) after every coat.
I turn my pens about .005" under and it usually takes 2 or 3 coats to build up to the exact diameter of the hardware. After sanding the final coat with 600 I buff with tripoli and then white diamond.
I really like wet sanding acrylics and PR but it makes such a MESS!:biggrin: I don't like wiping up water or worse, FORGETTING to wipe up a spot and finding RUST the next day.
For now, I'll stay DRY!:wink:


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## d1carter (Sep 14, 2008)

*Wet sanding with BLO*

When I wet sand wood pens or other turnings, I wet sand with BLO and I usually finish with two to three coats of CA. Sometimes I will MM the CA through 12000 if needed. 
Sanding with BLO cuts down on the sanding marks and really helps with the dust...


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## randyrls (Sep 15, 2008)

rherrell said:


> I really like wet sanding acrylics and PR but it makes such a MESS!:biggrin: I don't like wiping up water or worse, FORGETTING to wipe up a spot and finding RUST the next day.
> For now, I'll stay DRY!:wink:



Rick;  I use a  piece of Shelf Liner I got from Harbor Freight.  I used it to line a toolbox and had an extra piece. It is heavy enough to stay down and in place.

I use a metal lathe and wipe the machine down with an oily rag once a month.


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## hewunch (Sep 15, 2008)

I dry sand to 1500 grit (Not MM) then apply my plexi finish, then let that dry and wet sand. No problems as the spinning lathe is continually forcing the water away and not in. Never had a problem. THAT said, I usually seal the ends of my blanks with CA before I MM through all the grits because I have to trim the ends because of the plexi.


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## TellicoTurning (Sep 15, 2008)

CHICAGOHAND said:


> A question for those who use micro mesh on "wood" pens. After you apply your finish such as CA or Poly do you wet sand such as I do with all my acrylics or not ?



Dave, 
As some of the others said, it's a personal choice, but wet sanding is the only way I've gotten the CA finish to work for me.   I wet sand both plastics and the wood.


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## jeffj13 (Sep 16, 2008)

My finish of choice for wood pens is lacquer.  I wet sand through MM using mineral spirits as the wetting agent.

jeff


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## woody350ep (Oct 4, 2008)

Is it acceptable to leave a pen with CA/BLO finish MM'd to 12000?  In other words, is there any concern with it dulling down after usage, or will it maintain its luster with continued usage.  I am currently experimenting a new finish technique that I got from Brandon25, and it seems that when I try to apply my PlastX after my MM steps it takes it BACK on its shine, instead of amplifying it.  I am confused on this, but if I can leave it at MM and be fine, I may just do that because they look good this way. TIA


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## NewLondon88 (Oct 4, 2008)

woody350ep said:


> Is it acceptable to leave a pen with CA/BLO finish MM'd to 12000?  In other words, is there any concern with it dulling down after usage, or will it maintain its luster with continued usage.  I am currently experimenting a new finish technique that I got from Brandon25, and it seems that when I try to apply my PlastX after my MM steps it takes it BACK on its shine, instead of amplifying it.  I am confused on this, but if I can leave it at MM and be fine, I may just do that because they look good this way. TIA



Just a guess, here .. I don't know for sure.
But I wonder if the MM is sanding so fine that it is partially sealing the wood? This might not allow anything you put on it to penetrate in SOME spots .. and allow penetration in others. This could give you an uneven finish.

As for leaving a pen with MM only, over time the oils from the hand can seep into the wood and develop a patina. It may dull off at first and then the sheen may come back. Some people prefer this as a finish, depending on the type of wood.


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## NewLondon88 (Oct 4, 2008)

I don't wet sand wood, I always thought it would raise the grain.
But I do wet sand acrylics and CA.

I don't necessarily notice a difference in the finished pen, but I definitely notice that there is MUCH less heat in the pen as I finish, and I'm much less likely to burn holes in the MM when I hit an edge.  For me, wet sanding acrylics or TruStone with MM is faster than sanding dry. (probably because it allows me to use a different technique/routine)

I keep the MM sheets in a bucket of water, and I keep a shop towel over the lathe ways. Shake off the MM, sand the blank then back in the bucket. A quick wipe with a damp towel removes the already dried sanding dust on the pen blank so I can move onto the next MM step.

I maintain the ways with Butcher's bowling alley wax and haven't seen a rust spot yet. (knock wood..)


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## woody350ep (Oct 4, 2008)

I didn't mean to just MM bare wood and leave it.  I MM and then CA/BLO, then MM again.  I was asking if I can leave it at that 2nd MM sanding instead of adding another step after that of plastic polish


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## rherrell (Oct 5, 2008)

woody350ep said:


> I didn't mean to just MM bare wood and leave it. I MM and then CA/BLO, then MM again. I was asking if I can leave it at that 2nd MM sanding instead of adding another step after that of plastic polish


 Absolutely, keep it simple.


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## OldWrangler (Oct 5, 2008)

On my final step before taking the pen to the polishing wheel, I sand the pen parts with 12,000 MM lubricated with BLO. This works for wood, CA or acrylic. When finished I wipe off the BLO with a paper shop towel and move to the wheels for a quick buff with white diamond and then a wheel lightly touched with Caranuba. This gives me the best finish with lots of glossy bling.


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