Cleansing of the wood
At 1:21:50 In the Purdey movie linked above the finisher mentions that they use a mild acid solution combined with a hot-air gun to both clean the wood and raise the grain prior to wet sanding of the wood and applying the finish.
Sounds like a smart thing to start with. To my experience if you cut corners in the basic work the end result will be compromised. Yet I have not used this method myself. I usually start sanding the wood or use some paint strippers or ammonia to get rid of old finish and grit before applying the new finish.
Do someone ha any idea what sort of a mild acid solution might be? I am thinking Vinegar (diluted?) or as mentioned by an American gun maker-oxalic acid..
Any ideas regarding the strength and usage for cleaning purposes? The reason I am wondering about the strength is that I dont want to hurt the bare wood with a to strong acidic solution.
I might guess that You repeat the process a couple of times with sanding in between until You wont get any stains on a clean cloth. Any thoughts on the need to neutralize the acid using alcohol, spirits or such before moving on?
