Sanding sealer

[jess stuart]

What is everyone's favorite sanding sealer.  I have used timber mate and a few others but, always looking for a better option.

[Crooked Stic]

I hardly ever use it. When I did it was Watco lacquer. Most times two or three wet coats of your finish level things out.my last coats are usually low pressure fogged on at a distance = matte finish.

[Kirkll]

I just use a spray lacquer between 80, 120, and 220 finish sanding,  and it serves its purpose showing any sanding marks or imperfections.

But for filling grain slots it's best to use something with more solids like high gloss polyester, or high gloss auto clear coat. Different products sand differently  and may take longer to cure before sanding is possible,  and may require using a reducer and a tad bit more activator in the mix. Some deep slotted grain like Wenge or paduke can take as much as 3 wet coats to level out.  Depends on your finish material.

I don't know about the rest of you guys, but this finish material is slowly getting too damn expensive. It's jumped up 30% in the last 2 years. My favorite auto clear coating is up to $150 per gallon with the 1 quart activator. It's a 4:1 mix. So I'm actually getting 1.25 gallons. I typically use about 10% reducer (lacquer thinner) with this euro clear finish.

There are a lot of different types of high quality clear coating materials out there. The trick is finding one that is user friendly that doesn't show the different coats if you sand through into the last coat, or heaven forbid down to bare wood in spots. The high end epoxy base clear coats are terrible about that. It sticks out like a turd in a punch bowl. Epoxy base finishes also seem to yellow out over time and not stay clear. It's tricky to work with. Laying it down too heavy without the right amount of reducer, and spraying multiple coats without curing and sanding,  can result in a foggy finish instead of clear.  I personally don't mess with that stuff anymore. Not user friendly at all.     Kirk

[Richard Korte]

I sand all my risers to 600, some even higher. Then I apply 4 coats of Mas epoxy, waiting for each to cure to get the stickiness of masking tape, then applying the next coat the same way. I let the epoxy cure for a few days, then sand till perfectly smooth with all pores sealed. This method has always worked for me!

[Kirkll]

I sand all my risers to 600, some even higher. Then I apply 4 coats of Mas epoxy, waiting for each to cure to get the stickiness of masking tape, then applying the next coat the same way. I let the epoxy cure for a few days, then sand till perfectly smooth with all pores sealed. This method has always worked for me!

Wow! Are you doing high gloss finish? I rarely go finer than 220 grit on the wood, and only to 320 on a hand rubbed satin finish. 0000 steel wool is nice for using a high gloss, high solids finish and polishing it to a rich satin too. I do not do high gloss finish on bows at all anymore. Way too much time involved getting it perfect. I lost my ass on every high gloss bow finish I ever did taking a week to get it right.

When I spray a finish on a bow, I'm done in in hour and it's ready to handle in 24 hours without marring the finish using auto clear coat.  You guys can have that epoxy finish...

Btw... if you want a drop dead gorgeous high gloss finish on a bow. Try using true oil sometime. It's not as durable, and requires more maintenance, but you can get a mirror finish with that stuff a lot easier than epoxy.

[Richard Korte]

After the epoxy has cured and sanded, I then apply the finish. Minwax oil based poly in a spray can has served me well...I am used to all the minor issues that may occur after more than 250 bows. And it's easy for the owners to recoat if the need arises. I use Minwax in satin and semi-gloss, but for a beautiful hi-gloss finish, I use Spray Max 2K Glamour Gloss in a spray can. So simple & easy! After a few days of curing, I then wet sand to 2000 grit, then use Maguires products and my 4" electric spot buffer to get a super finish. This is a life long hobby for me, not a business, so I never take orders. That allows me to take my time, work when I want to, and do my best with each bow.

[dbeaver]

Zinseer Bullseye Seal Coat is a really user friendly product ive grown to enjoy filling pores with.  I usually like to build up a few substantial layers and then sand everything back down to bare wood and add another coat to see if all the pores have been filled.  Then sand it all down again and do regular prep for finishing


Can fill pores on a bow in a day due to it being dry to the touch in 10 minutes and able to recoat in under 30