Lint free?

[Stephen]

Hi everyone,

So when wiping off excess stain, I am at a loss when it comes to lint free cloths. I've tried old t shirts, the "bag of lint free" rags from the local home center, and both are leaving tiny fabric fibers in the finish.  What's the secret?  I spend so much time prepping the project so that finishing goes as smoothly as possible.  Any suggestions?

Thanks for any feedback.

[Ken Darga]

Cheese cloth has been the all-purpose material of choice for decades.

I generally use ''cheese cloth'', or equiv lint-free rags, such as a micro-fiber material.

A lint-free cloth soaked in the solvent of your finish, is an acceptable alternate.

That way your cloth doesn't leave anything behind that isn't incompatible with the finish.

Most loose fiber cotton materials, such as t-shirt material, leaves traces of the undesirable lint and fine fibers, and it doesn't pick-up and hold the very fine dust particles.

Don't over-sand.

Use a sanding block so your pressure is even and you don't round over edges. 

Flatten the finish, not the wood.

[Ken Darga]

Dust is in the air---everywhere.

Dust particle can be disturbed, just by movement nearby.

Perhaps your object needs to be shielded, from dust particles settling onto the wetted surface. 

A finishing booth, constructed of cardboard, could be a simple solution.

Alternate: A booth constructed of PVC pipe and covered with a transparent drop cloth material.

A fan, LOW speed, suitably rigged up so as to pull air away from the work-piece.

[Stephen]

Thanks, Ken.  I'll give cheese cloth a go.  I might look into that finishing booth too.  I appreciate the response.

[Ken Darga]

PS---

Cheese cloth can be wrapped over a soft cotton cloth,

so as to absorb most of the excess stain.

(Old cotton babies diapers are the one of the best cotton materials).

For small spots/areas, the soft cotton facial cleaning pads are useful, for applying finishes.

(These pads can be obtained from a store that sells cosmetics).

[Stephen]

That's great. I'll try both.

[ray vile]

Hi Stephen, I use a stainig pad, you can get them at any big box stores, they don't leave anything on the finish.