Sanding sealer

[timber]

Hi to all you knowledgeable folk,
Wondering if watered down PVA glue would act as a sanding sealer, Does anyone use it for that task
Timber

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Have you ever tried sanding through PVA? I think you'd have answered your own question.

 

[timber]

Have you ever tried sanding through PVA? I think you'd have answered your own question.

No is the short answer ,but I will experiment as it is, in my opinion, one of the ways to learn.
All part of the new type of fun to me,_________ Bulldozers and large chainsaws were more my line, NOW that was fun.
Cheers
Timber

 

[StevieB]

While experimenting is fine, you can also take advice and save some hassle! PVA wouldn't work as a sanding sealer for timber - buy proper sanding sealer. Its cheap, readily available (toolstation for example) and dries within minutes. PVA will not absorb into the wood grain, and would inhibit staining or finishing afterwards.

Steve

 

[RogerP]

Liberon, Chestnut and others sell sanding sealer for about £13/14 a litre. Best if you can buy local as postage is expensive.

 

[timber]

Steve and Roger thank you for sensible answers . Phi.p, I see you have 7401 posts to your name so I assume you have tried to in the past!!!???
In my past I have only used Danish on a lot of oak Staircase and spindles and an elm table that we waxed and polished. However I just recently bought some pen making stuff, and a lot more gear, also letter opener kits, thought I would give it a go. Called in to Lincolnshire Wood craft at Stamford for some other stuff, never thought about sealer.
Timber

 

[ED65]

Sanding sealer is really just a marketing term, nearly the same as Danish oil or teak oil, neither of which are specific things.

If you had shellac you could thin it further with some meths and you'd have something virtually identical to some commercial sanding sealers. You can also do the same with lacquers. You can even use very dilute varnish for this purpose although here the drying time is much longer obviously.

I've tried dilute PVA on wood, it's works okay for certain purposes but there are better things. A much better choice for this in terms of glues would be dilute hide glue (called size in this context). One of the main reasons you wouldn't want to do this with PVA is it could seriously impact the way the wood takes up your final finish, leading to those horrible pale areas characteristic of poorly cleaned up glue around joints. But it does depend on your choice of finish.

Now the important question, what exactly are you looking to do? Because the function of sanding sealer is very specific yet there are many cases where it serves no useful purpose but people use it anyway.

In some finishing circles sanding sealer is just that weird stuff other people use. Often you'll be just fine, actually better, if you go straight to your final finish and not mess around with an initial surface treatment like this.

 

[monkeybiter]

Sanding sealer can be useful when finish turning spalted timbers, making the soft surface a little crisper under the tool/abrasive.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

My answer was a little flippant - sorry. Trying to sand PVA is a little like sanding rubber - it is never truly hard. As in the previous answers, it much depends what you want to use it for - if you're trying to make something soft or rotten a bit harder, fine, but often it serves little purpose and can sometimes affect the absorption of the stain or finish and cause blotchiness. I prefer to use (hot) water or steam if I just wish to raise the grain - which is what many people use s/s for - on the theory that if it does no good it does no harm. More often than not it's enough.

 

[ED65]

Trying to sand PVA is a little like sanding rubber - it is never truly hard. .

While that is true it's not quite the same as wood treated with PVA which is actually what would be being sanded. That goes really quite hard – we only need to mix some sawdust with glue and compare it to straight dried glue to see the difference.

Still, not a reason to use dilute PVA for this except maybe if you were painting on top.

 

[timber]

Trying to sand PVA is a little like sanding rubber - it is never truly hard. .

While that is true it's not quite the same as wood treated with PVA which is actually what would be being sanded. That goes really quite hard – we only need to mix some sawdust with glue and compare it to straight dried glue to see the difference.

Still, not a reason to use dilute PVA for this except maybe if you were painting on top.

Thanks for all the answers , no worries Pete, the written word is often different to the spoken one face to face, One can't see the grin or smiles
Thanks all, I am at present turning some brown oak and elm. both felled by me about 40 years ago and planked when I had a small sawmill.
Alright when I started, got bored with it , and went back to the outdoor roaming life
Timber