sanding sealers

[mumble]

What does a sanding sealer do and should you always use it?

Just turned my first piece (oak) and have just used danish oil on it

 

[Terry Smart]

Sanding Sealers aren't always essential, but they will always give you a better final result to your finish EXCEPT when using oils; they shouldn't be used with oils because they want to penetrate and the sealer will prevent this.

The purpose of a sealer is to fill the open pores of the wood, thus needing less of the top coat (which not only saves money but will give a more resilient finish) and to bind together any loose fibrous material that is inevitably on the surface of the timber (however smooth it may feel!) whilst at the same time evening out any minor irregularities to give a better foundation for whatever finish you intend to put over the top.
Sealers have a 'sanding agent' in them which helps seal the surface and also acts as a lubricant to make the sanding process easier.

 

[finneyb]

Also, if you are turning and come to some punky wood sanding sealer can help stabilise it.

Brian

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

The sort of "classic" combo for woodturners is cellulose sanding sealer followed by denibbing and then either another coat of SS or just straight onto Micro-crystalline wax (often referred to as MC wax). The SS does exactly what Terry mentioned ie it fills the pores and smoothes everything so the wax coat gives a much more even finish with uniform lustre across the piece.

SS is close to essential on open grained woods like Ash and Oak if you then plan to use a wax finish.

 

[mumble]

Thanks for the replies, look like I need to look at some sanding sealer.

 

[Stiggy]

You can use sanding sealer with oils, it gives your piece a more even saturation when dealing with end/side grain

Try using a 50/50 cellulose sealer mix with thinner - it will do you well.