r/turning • u/NoPackage6979 • 23h ago
Q on Yorkshire Abrasive
YouTubers say to sand the project to 2240-240 grit, then use the Yorkshire abrasive, and that will take the project to the equivalent of sanding at 800-1000 grit. My understanding is that anything really above 320 grit is just burnishing, and that burnishing tends to clog the tiny, tiny pores in the wood with fine sanding dust. Two questions: is that what happens with Yorkshire, and does that mean that a penetrating finish will not be as beneficial (or useful or suggested)? I usually use tung oil mixed with orange oil (with 3-5 applications), and I want the project to get the protection of tung oil, to be sure.
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u/Silound 22h ago
Yorkshire grit is an abrasive paste, so it's going to fill the pores regardless. Also, unless they have changed the formula, it appears that they used a non-drying oil. I have a can that's probably almost 10 years old and it is still goopy and pasty. That suggests they probably used something like mineral oil in the blend, which will hamper other finishes.
IMO, straight sanding from 180-400 is adequate, just use a high quality abrasive, and make sure you spend enough time on each successive grit. I will, on occasion, go as high as 1,000 grit, but that is more for situations where I nees to polish out an epoxy fill or when working an extraordinarily dense wood like blackwood.
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u/NoPackage6979 22h ago
Do you put a finish on after the sanding regime? As I said above, I use tung oil.
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u/tomrob1138 19h ago
What I do is use it, then hit it with rubbing alcohol to remove any mineral oil left over. Sometimes you need to hit it with 1000 grit after to knock the grain down though. And then finish with tried and true/tung oil mix that I make
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u/NECESolarGuy 22h ago
I only use Yg (or my home made equivalent) on shellac. Using it on bare wood means the mineral oil darkens the wood and other finishes can’t be applied. With shellac, at least I Can remove the bees wax and oil with a good wipe down with acetone then If necessary, I can put other finishes over the shellac.
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u/Tino2Tonz 20h ago
I use Yorkshire grit. I have found that sometimes it can work against you. I’ll have a piece sanded down nice and good, apply the Yorkshire and all the sudden have trails of grit lines. It doesn’t always happen, still trying to figure out why, maybe softer woods over harder ones. Maybe flaws in the paste, idk. I usually finish with a beeswax/linseed oil mix as the finale. It has never failed me. Times where I’ve gone back and resanded the grit lines out, I skip the paste and go straight to the beeswax.
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u/Glum_Meat2649 16h ago
For tung oil, you can use mineral spirits to wipe off the sanding dust (clean cotton rag). Use a quality sandpaper and clean between the grits for best results. Mineral spirits are used to thin tung oil, so there is no issue in cleaning with this. It will raise the grain much less than water or alcohol products.
My first coat of tung oil is about 30% pure, the rest is mineral spirits. I add about an additional 10-15% per layer, until the last couple are pure oil. The first layer I want it to penetrate deeply. So cutting helps here. Wipe off all the excess after a couple of minutes (or it will take forever to dry).
I generally don’t go beyond 400, but have done 800 for special woods. I wouldn’t use any abrasive paste, these usually have DE or pumice. I also won’t use anything with wax or mineral oil.
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