Carving on fiber board

[mikew]

I have been doing carving on medium density board and then spraying it white. After sealing the board the fibers rise in the carved area, were it a standard flat board this would be easily removed with a sander however when it happens within the carving it results in hours of hand sanding. Would you have any suggestions of how best to overcome this problem?

I initially tried sandpaper which was unsuccessful know I am using 3M scourer or fine steel wool. I have had suggestions of buying a good quality fiber board but I have only one supplier so that suggestion is a No. I have also had a suggestion of running the first cut at 95% and a second at 100%. I don’t see that that would work for me as my cycle time is about an hour and fiber lifting is natural behavior for any newly cut piece of timber or board.

[bleeth]

Unfortunatly there is no answer beyond what has already been suggested to you and/or you are doing. There is a slim possibility that another sealer may make the sanding easier than what it is but you will need to experiment with locally available product.

Dave

[edcoleman]

Mike:

You may want to check out some of the products here:

http://www.klingspor.com/products/klgprspec.htm

specifically their "sanding stars" and "flutter sheets" - I've used these type items for sanding irregular carvings with good results.

-Ed

[donchapman]

Water-based sealers or paints will raise the fibers much more so than will solvent based products. A good produt to try is Zinsser Cover-Stain White Pigmented Primer Sealer Stin-Killer Bond Coat (1 hr dry, paint thinner cleanup) for interior/exterior use. You may still need to sand some, but not nearly as much. If you have a lot of fuzz even before spraying, you may have to find a better grade of MDF.

[mikew]

Don you are correct the liquids are the problem.I would like to try the products you suggest but have never heard of them, I live in South Africa. Who manufactures them? Possibly I can track them down.

[donchapman]

Wm. Zinsser & Co., Inc. of Somerset, NJ, USA which has a good website at www.zinsser.com (http://www.zinsser.com) where you can find their international contacts and the above-described product.
But if you can't easily get that specific primer/sealer, just try to find one locally that is not water based and is rated for exterior use if you are wanting to use it outside. There are many more products available that are rated for only interior use.