Lint in permalyn finish

[HighUintas]

I've been using permalyn sealer and have been using Bill shipman and Ed Wenger's method of application. It has been going well and I haven't noticed any lint getting into the finish. I put on what I thought maybe my last or second to last coat last night, checked it this morning, and noticed a bunch of littlent in the finish. It looks like it's in it rather than just on it.

I have not been rubbing back or anything at all in between coats, just making sure there's no lint or dust on the surface. I want to avoid doing that, because I want the finish to be as clear as possible to help create that chatoyance.

It is really shiny and begging to be rubbed out with rotten Stone tonight or tomorrow morning.




Will the rubbing out process take care of the lint or is there some other remediation I should pursue? Should I not worry about it and proceed to rubbing out?

[P.W.Berkuta]

The only way you're going to know is to rub it out with your rottenstone

[HighUintas]

That is true. I was just thinking about how the clock is ticking with permalyn and how hard it gets when it dries fully. I figured it would be easiest to remedy asap, but didn't want to rub it out if someone had already failed at that endeavor.

I'll just give it a go and report back.

. I knew permalyn was shiny but didn't fully understand  how shiny it is until now. It could blind a person in the right light

[HSmithTX]

Until it fully hardens you can rub some more oil on it and wipe the new oil as well as what it softened under it off, hopefully taking the lint off with it.  It's also easier to rub the shine back after it hardens fully if you want a very consistent finish, I think so anyway.  I wait a few weeks before rubbing it back. 

[Dwshotwell]

I was using Chamber’s Oil instead of Permalyn, but when I had a similar issue I put some of the finish on piece of green scotch brite and worked it around and it took care of it.

[Scota4570]

To avoid this very problem I apply wipe on finished with a wad of ladies stocking material.  It has no lint.  The open weave of synthetic material is not absorbent.  Being very soft it lays on the finish very nicely.  I cut all varnish type finished and try to apply them with very few strokes.   I put on the very minimum to make it wet and move on. 

[HighUintas]

Thank you all for the tips!

I'll likely try rubbing out a spot with rottenstone since that will be the finish anyway. If it doesn't look like it will work, I'll use some maroon scotchbrite and go over the whole thing with oil or sealer. Then do another final coat of permalyn prior to rubbing out.

Thanks for the tip on the panty hose! I'll have to pick some up. I have been using a cotton tshirt... I have been thinking about it and it's possible that the lint came about from the shirt because I've used the same piece for the last few coats (just store it in a jar with sealer between coats) and it may just be releasing fibers easier than the first couple coats. It's probably best to use a fresh piece for each coat.

[HighUintas]

Well, I tried rubbing the lint out with rottenstone. Mineral oil and tooth brush and rottenstone.

It doesn't work! It might if I had a dense foam block to run with instead of the brush.

I also tried maroon and gray scotchbrite with oil. Those didn't work either.

Then I tried oil and 1500grit wet/dry paper. That worked.

Also, I'm not sure if is the correct look or not, but after rubbing out with rottenstone and the two different scotchbrite (different areas and all three looked similar) the finish looked more cloudy and seemed to obscure the grain. I don't think I like the look. I don't think I rubbed too much... I tried little by little and it never seemed to look good.

[HSmithTX]

You can sand back to wood (stop short of taking color if you’re at the color you want) and not lose much ground at all,  the sealer will still be in the wood, do another heavy coat of sealer and wipe off any excess that didn’t soak in 10-15 min after it went on, add more to any dry spots, wipe excess again if needed and be ready to start finish again tomorrow.  It’s also an opportunity to fine tune any scratches or sanding or tool marks you didn’t want in the final finished rifle, if you found any when the finish went on. Touch up stain, sand to blend and seal, finish as normal.

Do it until you’re happy, nothing to lose but some time and labor and if your time spent is anything like mine another 5-10 hours is pretty insignificant in the overall project.

[HighUintas]

You can sand back to wood (stop short of taking color if you’re at the color you want) and not lose much ground at all,  the sealer will still be in the wood, do another heavy coat of sealer and wipe off any excess that didn’t soak in 10-15 min after it went on, add more to any dry spots, wipe excess again if needed and be ready to start finish again tomorrow.  It’s also an opportunity to fine tune any scratches or sanding or tool marks you didn’t want in the final finished rifle, if you found any when the finish went on. Touch up stain, sand to blend and seal, finish as normal.

Do it until you’re happy, nothing to lose but some time and labor and if your time spent is anything like mine another 5-10 hours is pretty insignificant in the overall project.

That's true, although I'm very nearly out of permalyn. I'm at about 1.5 year on this project!

See here https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=76939.0