On Nov 3, 12:11*pm, -MIKE- wrote:
The guy at woodcraft suggested using regular old brown paper grocery
bags, instead of 320-400-ish sandpaper, to knock off the raised grain
after staining. *Well, I just tried it and it seemed to do a pretty good
job.


They're also good for removing light surface rust without damaging a
finish such as bluing, I've been told for forever not to cut
cardboard because it is abrasive and will dull a knife. I've been
ignoring this for forever and just sharpening the (various) knives
when they get dull (from whatever reason).

And speaking of rust, the first thing I try on light rust is a coarse
terrycloth rag with some light oil (auto trans fluid works well).
This will usually remove rust with a good scrubbing, but won't harm
bluing or other finish.