Sanding Sealer.....

[arcos]

A little confused about the application of sanding sealer.

As far as I understand you sand your project to a finish then apply sanding sealer, leave to dry and then with final grit sand off any excess?

This then 'seals'(?) the wood and 'fills' the grain before applying the finish.

Now, I have noticed when finishing some of my olive pieces that I get 'dry' spots where oil gets absorbed very quickly leaving a rather satin (dull) finish.

Would something like a sanding sealer overcome this?

[Bryan Milham]

Arcos,

As a general rule, I would only apply Wax or other solid finishes over a 'sealed' piece of work.

For oils, you want them to soak into the wood, so sealing it first is not a good idea.
What are you using as a sanding sealer? By that I mean the base fluid - Cellulose, Acrylic, Water or Meths (Shellac).

However Spirit (coloured stains) would go over shellac because it's meth's based but I'm not sure the effect it would cause. And you can Oil over spirit stains.

[arcos]

Aha, ok.

Well, I am not using any kind of sanding sealer at the moment and I guess thats why the question.

From what I have seen/read, it fills grain and seals the wood, creating a very smooth surface to finish... Is that pretty much correct?

I have been trying to source beeswax here with little success... I can get thin sheets of beeswax... I am going to get a few this afternoon and see if I can melt them into a more usable block.

[Bryan Milham]

Take a look at this thread I started, several good ideas for turning loose flakes or small pieces into useable sticks.

[arcos]

Take a look at this thread I started, several good ideas for turning loose flakes or small pieces into useable sticks.

No link there dr4g0nfly 

[Bryan Milham]

Blushing again!

http://www.awgb.co.uk/awgbforum/index.php?topic=687.0 - Making Wax Sticks

[arcos]

If I had a euro for every time I forget an attachment or link I would be in the Caribbean right now!

I bought half a kilo of beeswax for 4.50 euros, thin sheets, melted about an 8th of one of the sheets, put it in an old, small plastic container from something or other and hey presto! I think I have enough wax for the rest of the year!!!

Think I have found my preferred finish!

Took a piece of scrap peachwood, turned it round and applied wax... Goodness me what a finish!

Took me a few attempts to get the finish right, remove excess, remove lines etc etc but it looks fantastic!