sexybeast Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 My guitar top is going to be like this one. Here's the wood. My problem is that the Purpleheart has white stuff stuck in the grain from sanding and I don't know how to clean it so it looks good. Should I use a scraper maybe, or does someone have a good suggestion. Just for tour information, the Purpleheart is SUPER hard, man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclej Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 if you have a compressor just blow it out. if not take a paint brush and brush it out. some 0000 steel wool might remove it or get a tack cloth from your local hardware store and rub it down with that. unless it's bonded somehow to the wood it shouldn't be too hard to remove. good luck with your project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mammoth guitars Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 If its in the grain holes, sanding or scraping will not help. Use alcohol or naptha and a paper towel and wipe it down. If that does not get it all out you will need to use a scribe and pick it out hole by hole and use compressed air as j described. What causes this problem is the lighter color wood's sanding dust getting into the pores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 If its in the grain holes, sanding or scraping will not help. Use alcohol or naptha and a paper towel and wipe it down. If that does not get it all out you will need to use a scribe and pick it out hole by hole and use compressed air as j described. What causes this problem is the lighter color wood's sanding dust getting into the pores. +1 for Naptha. A compressor will work well too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 I use acetone myself, the only difference being it's a slightly heavier aromatic hydrocarbon and a bit cheaper for me to source. The effect is the same of course :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted October 18, 2006 Report Share Posted October 18, 2006 A compressor is the very best thing to use. Using any petroleum based fluid to try and clean it may very well make your problem much worse than it is, as it could very well pick up some of the oils from the Purpleheart and carry them to the other wood, then you've -really- got a problem. This is a common problem run into by anyone who tries to combine different woods and sands them, compressed air is the only proper choice here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted October 18, 2006 Report Share Posted October 18, 2006 Oh excellent. Now I have to go and buy a compressor. Thanks, Drak. </sarcasm> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted October 18, 2006 Report Share Posted October 18, 2006 You might be able to just buy one of those cans of compressed air available at most computer retailers for blowing off circuit boards, that might work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert_the_damned Posted October 18, 2006 Report Share Posted October 18, 2006 You might be able to just buy one of those cans of compressed air available at most computer retailers for blowing off circuit boards, that might work. or along similar lines the compressed air cans that you can get for some air brushes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted October 18, 2006 Report Share Posted October 18, 2006 I use acetone myself, the only difference being it's a slightly heavier aromatic hydrocarbon and a bit cheaper for me to source. The effect is the same of course :-D Off topic but JFYI, the effect on your health is very different, acetone is a known carcinogen. If used properly, a scraper will do the trick, as it does not create dust per se. My experience with this (ebony dust in maple) is that it only becomes a problem at the finer grits, I didn't have a problem until I got to 320. In my experience, liquid is bad, compressed air is good. I used one of those dust-chaser cans, and it worked fine so long as I used a semi-gentle air flow and didn't aim it straight into the wood grain...more like at a slight angle. After that, I taped off the wood that was creating the offending dust (ebony for me, maple for you) and sprayed a wash coat of shellac on the wood that was getting contaminated (maple for me, purpleheart for you). This served to seal the grain so that the dust wouldn't penetrate and could be more easily removed with the compressed air. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batfink Posted October 18, 2006 Report Share Posted October 18, 2006 Oh excellent. Now I have to go and buy a compressor. Thanks, Drak. </sarcasm> I just wander down to my local Shell garage and use their free airline - get a few odd looks but who cares ! Jem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spazzyone Posted October 18, 2006 Report Share Posted October 18, 2006 Oh excellent. Now I have to go and buy a compressor. Thanks, Drak. </sarcasm> I just wander down to my local Shell garage and use their free airline - get a few odd looks but who cares ! Jem Making inflatible guitars are we! and how much would we be getting for these on todays market LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hippie Dave Posted October 18, 2006 Report Share Posted October 18, 2006 (edited) Just a quick note, and you may wish to verify...Purpleheart wood , as I seen to recall, is rather toxic. I should say that the dust from sanding is toxic, and can cause all kinds of pulmonary problems. When I had a Bookstore, there was a fellow that made many awsome woodcraft items for me, several contained Purpleheart. I asked about making a fretboard out of it. It was then that i found out about the "downside" of using this wood. I'm not yelling "stop", I just want you to be aware of the potential problems of using the wood, and to be safe when sanding. It's a beautiful wood, and lends a unique quality to the appearance of an instument. I encourage you to look it up, as my information may be a little old and/or faulty, But the fellow was an experienced craftsman, and better safe than anything. Build On!!! Edited October 18, 2006 by Hippie Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sexybeast Posted October 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2006 Just a quick note, and you may wish to verify...Purpleheart wood , as I seen to recall, is rather toxic. ... You're not kidding it's toxic!!! When I routed the body shape, I didn't wear my respirator and got sick for three days. I had a flare up of Asthma, nausea and general malaise. Anyone working with Purpleheart should be extra cautious. I was pretty sick for a few days from it. And I mean sick. It's om my website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Secondino Posted October 21, 2006 Report Share Posted October 21, 2006 (edited) IF you want to get things out of the pores of the wood, aside from wiping it down with thinner or naptha, try a common house hold vacuum. Just make sure the hose end isn't rough or use a brush attachment Edited October 21, 2006 by Paul Secondino Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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