pumice

[cmac]

I did a scraped finish on my last rifle. This got my Grandfather and I talking about pumice instead of sandpaper. Does anyone here use this and are there advantages over paper?

[54Bucks]

 I don't think you want to use pumice or rottenstone on untreated wood. Those I've tried are ok for knocking down the final finish. But I think these fine powders would just work into the pores of raw wood causing a problem with staining/finishing.

[Don Getz]

54, you got that right.   Pumice can be used as a final rub down on a finish that is too shiny, it will also make it glass smooth.   Don't use it on raw wood................Don

[cmac]

Never used the stuff, but its nice to know where it can and cannot be put to work.

[smart dog]

Hi Cmac,
I use pumice stone and rottenstone frequently, but not for smoothing unfinished wood.  The powders are useful for smoothing and polishing varnish or shellac finishes that build up on top of the wood (not so great for oil finishes that penetrate into the wood).  They are used with a rubber (bit of dense foam or rubber wrapped in a cloth) and some sort of lubricating oil like linseed.  By the way, sandpaper or some sort of grit impregnated paper was made in the 18th century and was even imported into the colonies.  However, it is doubtful that much of it reached many of the rural gunsmiths.

dave

[kutter]

I've used them sparingly with the first few coats of French Polish finish to fill up the pores on some types of wood,,usually American Walnut.
It'll work into the pores with the shellac finish as it's built up and fill them quite quickly. Blends nicely, but will raise $#*! with any checkering tools (or carving) that's planned for afterwards.

I'd guess either would make a good polishing compound on a leather belt or wheel or even a leather covered hand polishing stick. Mixed in a wax or grease type base for application to the leather,,it'd polish & burnish quite well I'd think. Probably do a knockout job on brass giving it a nice burnished look w/o the slicky high polished buffed appearance.

[Joe S]

I like to use pumice in oil on metal.  One of the advantages is that you can load up a wooden dowel with it for polishing curved surfaces and crevices that are really hard to get to otherwise.  It leaves as very nice finish with coarser grades.  You could move on down to rottenstone if you wanted a mirror polish.

[raszpla]

Pumex to doskonały środek ścierny do wykańczania drewna , oczywiście stosuje się z olejem lnianym lub pokostem. Operację zawsze powtarza się kilkakrotnie w odstępach dwudniowy. Jest to tradycyjna metoda którą stosowało się po cyklinowaniu. Natomiast drewno barwimy zawsze po wchłonięciu oleju przez drewno ale przed jego wyschnieciem .
Ja używam pumeksu przy każdej swojej pracy !
----------------------------------------------------------------


Pumex is an excellent abrasive for finishing wood, of course, apply linseed oil .The operation is always repeated several times at intervals of two days.It is a traditional method that has always applied after the cyclin.Wood has always stained after absorption of oil by the wood but before it dries..
I use a pumice stone on each of your work!
-------------------------------------------------------