Raise the grain on oil based finishes?

[Pbmaster11]

Do you have to raise the grain on oil based finishes?

Water based for sure??

How about a shellac? All the finishing products confuse me.

[thewoodwhisperer]

Do you have to raise the grain on oil based finishes?

Water based for sure??

How about a shellac? All the finishing products confuse me.

Howdy! All finishes tend to rough up the surface when the first coat is applied. But nothing does it quite as bad as water-based finishes. So you can certainly raise the grain before using ANY finish, and it should help reduce the roughness you experience after the first coat. But with anything other than water-based finishes, the returns are usually not worth the extra work involved.

Now sometimes on a smaller project, since I like to do a final sanding at 180 by hand, I'll spritz a little water on the project to raise the grain. It only adds 30 minutes to my schedule since I was going to do the sanding anyway. But you really get the most "bang for your buck" out when using water-based.

[AceHoleInOne]

For projects that I use water based products on. I always, wash my entire project down 50/50 water and denature alcohol to clean the wood removing any contaminates saw dust, whatever. You probably already figured it out, will also raise the grain. Then a light scuff to de-wisker. The denatured alcohol will also help the water to evaporate quicker from the wood, so not to over wet your wood.

Oil based finishes, I will wash down the wood with mineral spirits.

Shellac finish, I will wash down the wood with 50/50 water and denatured alcohol.

So if you feel any grain raising, just take care of it then.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

-Ace-