After this week's discussion about tack rags and dust cloths, I
decided to do a test this weekend with one of the "high tech" dust
rags currently being sold and woodworking finishes.

Meet the players:

The dust cloths: Fort James 29600 "Dust-N-Clean" yellow microfiber
cloths. (50) 12x17 cloths are ~ $7 at a local janitorial supply
house. Fort James says these are "Coated for superior performance."
They don't specify the coating, hence the test. G

(4) oak plywood panels

** My favorite barrier - Zinnser Sealcoat
** One of my favorite waterborne lacquers - M.L. Campbell Ultrastar
Sanding Sealer and M.L. Campbell Ultrastar Satin top coat
** Deft gloss solvent lacquer in a spray bomb. Lacquer is affected by
lots of chemicals and HATES silicone, this is more of a control mainly
to check for silicone.

Each panel was sanded to 180 grit with a ROS and rubbed as clean as
possible with a new Dust-N-Clean.

So far, I've applied full-strength Sealcoat to one panel with a foam
brush, sprayed another panel with Ultrastar Sanding Sealer with a
Critter, and sprayed another with boxed coats of Deft from the spray
bomb. The last panel was left alone, as it will get three coats of
Ultrastar without any sanding sealer.

After the Sealcoat, US SS, and Deft initial coat, there are no signs
of fish eye or any weirdness on any of the treated panels. This is
good!

Tomorrow morning, I'll add one coat of Ultrastar to three of the
boards, and another coat of Deft to the forth. Tomorrow afternoon,
I'll scuff them all with 400, dust them again with the Dust-N-Clean,
and spray the final coats.

The Dust-N-Clean cloths are cheap and work GREAT cleaning the car and
the house. If they work under finishes, especially the finishes that
don't tolerate oiled tack rags, they may possibly become an excellent
shop tool.

On Sat, 27 Jan 2007 00:44:35 GMT, B A R R Y
wrote:

The dust cloths: Fort James 29600 "Dust-N-Clean" yellow microfiber
cloths. (50) 12x17 cloths are ~ $7 at a local janitorial supply
house. Fort James says these are "Coated for superior performance."
They don't specify the coating, hence the test. G

One panel got one coat of Sealcoat and two coats of Ultrastar.

One got one coat of Ultrastar Sanding Sealer and two coats of
Ultrastar.

One got three coats of Ultrastar, with no sanding sealer

The last got three coats of Deft solvent lacquer.

Each panel was sanded and dusted with the yellow cloths before the
first coat. The panels were sanded with 400 grit and dusted again,
with a fresh cloth, before the last coat of finish. None displayed
any signs of fish eye or flow out problems. All of the finishes seem
to have adhered properly and sanded well.

So the verdict seems to be that these particular treated cloths are OK
under shellac, solvent lacquer, and at least one specific water
lacquer!

I'll keep an eye out for longer term adhesion problems. Going
forward, I'll try some tape and knife slashes and see how everything
adheres.

Cool!