Wood feathering

[TomBulls]

Hey, everyone-

I'm refinishing a stock for a Mosin-Nagant, and I've got this weird problem with the wood. The wrist and cheek piece on the stock are feathering when I'm trying to sand it. It's almost like the wood is so full of oil (or water most likely) that the ends of the wood grain keep rising no matter how much I sand it.

I've been trying to get the wood dried out with acetone, and it's been stripped a couple of times with Zip Strip stain/finish remover. Not sure what to do right now. Any tips?

[dgill99]

I recommend using mineral spirits not Acetone

[John Boy]

I recommend using mineral spirits not Acetone Ditto - Make sure it is pure mineral spirits. ACE Hardware stores carry the pure stuff. BEST only sells the diluted stuff

[Whiterabbit]

rising grain? so you are at the finishing stage, not the shaping stage, yes? have you tried using wetsandpaper and sanding in the presence of the oil you are gonna use?

[bangerjim]

To solve the raised grain/feathering problem, finishers ( and I) use a wash coat of 50 parts water to 1 part wood glue. Wipe it one in a thin coat & let it dry completely for 24 hours The water raises the grain and the glue holds it up so, when dry, you can sand it down.............. for good. There is not enough glue in there to do any sealing of the wood so finishes and stains go right in.

All that ZIP STRIP stuff totally ruins the patina of any wood. I avoid that methylene chloride based stuff all together. Except when stripping PAINT, not finished wood. You do not need to use an agressive stripper to refinish varnished/oiled/lacquered/schellaced wood. 0000 steel wool and the solvent of the finish your are trying to take off works every time. ( and a little olde fashioned elbow grease)

Body oil in the wood will not cause what you are talking about. It will darken the wood but will not raise the grain. Salt.....mabe....if the previous owner was a big "sweater"! The above water-based grain raiser should solve the embedded salt problem also.

If you want to take water out of wood...or ANYTHING hygroscopic (water absorbing) use methanol or pure grain alcohol...NOT rubbing alcohol! It will adhere to the water molcules and transport them "out-o-there". Alcohol will not raise the grain...that is why it is one of the solvents used in many NGR (non-grain-raising) stains and aniline dies. Mineral spirits & acetone & laq thinner will not mix with water and will not dry it out. It may only displace some of the water. BTW.....that is all WD40 is good for!

bangerjim

[RedneckRob]

" If you want to take water out of wood...or ANYTHING hygroscopic (water absorbing) use methanol or pure grain alcohol...NOT rubbing alcohol! It will adhere to the water molcules and transport them "out-o-there". Alcohol will not raise the grain...that is why it is one of the solvents used in many NGR (non-grain-raising) stains and aniline dies. Mineral spirits & acetone & laq thinner will not mix with water and will not dry it out. It may only displace some of the water. BTW.....that is all WD40 is good for! "

I use denatured alcohol to clean my old Mil. stocks ( oil, grim, ect. ) and it will raise bumps, not to deep, on up flush.