Does Mineral Spirits Raise Grain? (2024)

I typically sand a piece to P600. When I get to up to around P220 I start using a tack rag in between grits.

When I complete sanding with the final grit and am ready to apply the first surface coating I will also use a tack rag to remove the dust. I have not found compressed air or vacuum to clean as well.

But I'm finding that if that tack rag is fresh out of the package it leaves splotchs of residual "tacky stuff". So lately I've taken to using mineral spirits on a rag to clean the dust, instead.

Does mineral spirits raise the grain? It's the last thing I want to do at this stage.

It's not a mixture of water and alcohol as two separate ingredients, but rather hydroxyl molecular bonding between the alcohol and water. That's why alcohol doesn't flash off leaving a wet surface.

And, of course, here is some very important information from Whiskey.com.

I guess the question I was pondering was would this be different compared to using anhydrous alcohol on a bone dry sample of wood in a closed zero humidity environment. That's not the real world so I suppose my question is just a pointless exercise in "what if".

Back to the real world. We now resume regular scheduled programming.

Rick Wetzel said:

Thanks for the denatured alcohol info. I think I'll try mineral spirits next.
I think the reason I tend to not use mineral spirits very much is it seems oily, kind of like kerosene.
If you promise it doesn't leave any kind of residue, I'll try it.. ;>)
Thanks again!

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You can use naphtha which evaporates much faster than mineral spirits.

In common practice as close as you will get to absolute alcohol (ie 100%) is 95% . It is called grain alcohol and the only place you will find it is in a liquor store and yes it costs almost as much a whiskey. When using alcohol in the lab it will absorb water rather quickly so if water content is important in an experiment and alcohol is used that will create a variable.

As to raised grain you can spray the alcohol on and then flash off with a lighter or torch. At least Jimmy Clewes does with a fire hazard warning.

Gerald Lawrence said:

As to raised grain you can spray the alcohol on and then flash off with a lighter or torch. At least Jimmy Clewes does with a fire hazard warning.

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That's what I do and I always do it outdoors. You also need to be careful if doing this on a bright sunny day because the flame is often invisible.

I'm guessing that the cell membrane allows water to pass through expanding the cell causing the fuzz. Al would remain on the surface. it may depend on the species as to whether the hydrogen bonded water molecule can be separated and pass through the membrane. Since Rick didn't seem to be having a problem using Al, I'm guessing that the Al holds the water on the surface until all evaporates.(Sorry. Turkey hangover!)

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Bill Boehme said:

The fibers that raise up are just the ends of xylem fibers that have been flattened down during sanding. Wetting them with water or alcohol just causes them to swell and stand up. Xylem fibers are the tissue that carries water and nutrients from the roots to the leaves. Xylem doesn't have cell walls. (Cornish Game Hen hangover)

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Thanks for sharing the tidbit about the xylem fibers being raised. Not heard this before.

Btw, I'm not a biology expert, but doesn't xylem cells have walls that are open on both ends?

Karl Loeblein said:

Thanks for sharing the tidbit about the xylem fibers being raised. Not heard this before.

Btw, I'm not a biology expert, but doesn't xylem cells have walls that are open on both ends?

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I'm not an expert either, but my understanding is they are basically the "soda straws" that carry water up the plant. I have also heard these cells described as zombie cells because they don't do any useful work until they are dead. These long xylem cells don't contain cytoplasm and are open on the ends where they join with another xylem cell.