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all by hand. You are not trying to sand the piece just knock the nibs off and dull the finish slightly. I use mainly 400 grit wet/dry. once I get to what I hope is the last coat I use 600 grit to smooth things out. I use a rag dampened with mineral spirits to wipe the dust off between coats. You may vac. first then do a wipe down just to get all the crude off. The last thing in world I do is blow the stuff off. What is the purpose? You blow all the crap up in the air then it settles down on everything and your project in the room. If using water based products wipe down with a rag dampened with water. Remember you are not trying to sand the piece just smooth the nibs and give a little tooth for the next coat to grab.
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I never us steel wool between coats- just 400-600 paper. I use MS on a rag to wipe off dust. I use a different room in the shop and let the dust settle overnight- just walking around stirs up the fine dust. Increasing the humidity a little helps settle the dust too and stops static cling. I don't brush the clear coat out of the can, but from a small separate plastic pan. After coating, I slowly walk away for an hour and do no more activity in the shop.
And I never sneeze.
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last question on this... I hope... after the final coat, do you sand that too? with maybe a 800 or 1000?
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I never sand a final coat.
Steve
Mo.
I miss the days of using my dinghy with a girlfriend too. Zack Butler-4/18/24
The Revos apparently are designed to clamp railroad ties and pull together horrifically prepared joints
WaterlooMark 02/9/2020
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I always use a tack cloth. I first use a vac to get most off. Between coats I use either 320 or 400 grit - just enough to scratch the surface and get nibs off. There isn't much dust created. I bought some of those micro fiber cloths but haven't tried them. If you want you could use a slightly dampened cloth with MS - real lightly. Wait a few minutes then go ahead and recoat. The MS is compatible with poly so you won't have an issue there.
John
Always use the right tool for the job.
We need to clean house.
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Steel wool and paste wax. Your sheen will be knocked down though. A good thing for me. The best way to avoid dust in your finish is to use a faster drying finish.....at least for me.
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Location: Far west end of San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles
You probably have an old rag lying about with random dried paint or stain on/in it. You know the kind, still too many clean spots to throw out just yet. I've found that using one of those works well for smoothing out dust nibs, etc. Seems the crusty parts are just stiff enough to get the job done while not so hard as to scratch the shiny surface.
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Just a scrap piece of plain typing/printer paper or brown grocery bag works well for de-nibbng and/or final finish. Tough enough to knock off the nibs, but soft enough to not affect the overall sheen. More often than not I use it flat as if I were sanding, not crumpled in a wad.
