Hi

I had the sad duty of attending the funeral of Martin Pidgen this week. Many of you will know Martin for his wood supply business, but he was also a great turner, demonstrating and teaching both in the UK and the USA. He will be missed by many, and we’ll certainly miss his presence at the Woodturning Weekender. We send our best wishes to Pat, and hope she’ll still come and see us in Doncaster for a dance!

I had a long phone conversation with someone this week about Acrylic Sanding Sealer. This product keeps growing in popularity, and I thought some of the points discussed would be worth relating in the Newsletter.My caller was planning some refurbishment work, following some water damage. He’d used Cellulose Sanding Sealer previously, but a lot of this job was to be done on-site, and the smell of that sealer might present a problem.

One of the big advantages to Acrylic Sanding Sealer is that it is virtually odourless, and can be used practically anywhere. Care still needs to be taken when spraying the sealer, as it’s not a good idea to be taking the dust and droplets into your lungs, of course. It’s also not flammable, so there are none of those hazards to contend with.

I was also asked about the best method of application. There are lots of correct answers to this!Probably the very best method is to spray it, if you have the correct equipment (and relevant PPE, as mentioned above). This is quick, easy, and, done correctly, gives excellent results.A brush can also be used; with a bristle brush there’s a danger that the air trapped in the bristles can cause the sealer to froth up a little. The best answer, where the accuracy of a brush is required, is to use one of our Foam Brushes (which are now all back in stock!). These are ideal for the Acrylic Sanding Sealer as the special foam doesn’t put air into the mixture.And, finally, the sealer can be applied with a cloth, which could be useful on larger areas where spraying isn’t suitable.

Something that sometimes surprises users of the Acrylic Sanding Sealer is the fact that, in the bottle, it’s white. My caller asked if any special care needed to be taken in the application.Nothing special; as with pretty much any finish, the sealer should be applied quite thinly; you certainly don’t want to create a puddle of the liquid, as this will severely hamper the drying time. The adhesion will also be affected, and the dried sealer will be prone to lifting away from the substrate very easily.

All the above information is about the non-aerosol, liquid version of the sealer, and also applies to the liquid version of the Acrylic Lacquer, of course.

I’ve got a demo next week! I’m off to North London Woodturners on Wednesday, for a return visit. It’s always a warm welcome there, and I’m looking forward to giving a demo. With one thing and another, it’s been a while, so be gentle folks, I might be a bit rusty!

I’ll let you know how it goes…

All the best