Sanding Sealer on Vic Ash

[lewisc]

Hi All,

I'm building a few table tops from victorian ash to be finished with either Feast Watson Wipe on Poly or looking for a quality water based finish that's durable. I bought some Feast Watson Sanding Sealer and finding the instructions a little vague. It says after application to sand with a medium grade paper.

Is it worth using? What should I sand too before application of the sealer? Any tips or hints?

TIA

[aldav]

Grain filling sanding sealers are generally only used under thinner finishes on open grained timbers. If you aren't concerned that the timber is too open grained, but still want to use a sanding sealer, you could use FW Proof Seal, it's clear, easy to apply and only needs a very light sand for a super smooth finish. Polyurethanes actually act as a grain filler and if you thin the first coat and then lightly sand to 240 grit you should get a very satisfactory result without the need for any sanding sealer.

Bet you're feeling good about coming to the end of a nightmare year, Lewis. :wink:

[lewisc]

It's definitely been an interesting one that's for sure David. There's only so much theory, drawing and CAD work you can get kids to do especially when we should be making stuff. Funnily enough, my Yr12 students have done better than ever. We were allowed to come to school for essential assessments and the practical work counted. Kept us all a little sane.

I've used OSMO and the Wipe on Poly before but everytime I sand the Vic Ash, there's always little splintery bits that pop up. I use a bit of CA glue to seal them but thinking that the sanding sealer might work. i'll check the Proof Seal out - it might do a good job as well.

[elanjacobs]

everytime I sand the Vic Ash, there's always little splintery bits that pop up.
Sounds like cell collapse; unfortunately, it's a common issue with plantation Vic Ash that I don't think sanding sealer will fix. The technical stuff is here if you want https://www.fwpa.com.au/images/processing/PNB047-0809_Research_Report_Surface_Internal_0.pdf but, basically, the internal structure of the grain collapses during the drying process if it's not carefully controlled, leaving behind all these little voids that pop out as you sand through.