When a coat of finish raises the grain, does that refer to smoothness or flatness? That is, does the entire tabletop roughen (on a micro level) but stay flat overall, or does it develop a 3-D surface that follows the grain pattern?
I started wondering about this while cleaning up a cherry nightstand that got dripped on (ceiling leak). There are undulations in the tabletop that follow the grain pattern, but they are so slight, I wouldn’t have noticed them if I hadn’t been using a card scraper. The maker could have left them there, or they could have developed over 20 years of the occasional spilled glass of water. Any theories?
Janet
Replies
Raise the grain
When I raise the grain I use a damp cloth with water and this will raise the hairlike wood fibers. Then let it dry and sand with a fine paper. This is for new wood. With your nightstand you may have to strip and sand it smooth and flat then refinish. You can try on a scrap of wood that has been wet for a peroid of time. Cherry is a nice wood, hope you have good luck with it.
Here is an interest article
Here is an interesting article on "raising the grain". I think it will answer your question as well as give you some info about the need for the process.
http://www.hardwoodlumberandmore.com/Articles/ArticleViewPage/tabid/75/ArticleId/28/Pre-Raising-The-Grain.aspx
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