Thread: Swansdown mop

Hi Tiger,
Are we talking 6in. or smaller. Seems that you are cleaning it far to often.
I have a few for different work, but rarely clean them, & I can get a Brilliant Finish on most of my work.
Are you running it on Top Speed, say around 3000 RPM. Does make a difference.
I make Wooden Knitting Needles, & I use a basic Beeswax & Canauba Wax, Paste & the finish I get on the 2nd. polishing astounds even me, & that is a 4in. mop that is used for all types of polishing, being it, Any U Beaut, Beeswax, or the harder one for the Needles.

Gday Tiger, I use a 6 inch mop in a makita drill. I get a great finish on my butchers block tops using EEE paste. Shines like glass first time. Also I do t clean it, just have diffrent mops for different apps.

Originally Posted by jenno

Gday Tiger, I use a 6 inch mop in a makita drill. I get a great finish on my butchers block tops using EEE paste. Shines like glass first time. Also I do t clean it, just have diffrent mops for different apps.

I don't doubt that you will get great results with this tool but I find that the mop just produces an endless supply of loose fibres no matter what I do. The fibres just manage to find themselves onto the project thereby ruining the finish of the project. I suspect it must be in how I prepared the mop but I did follow instructions and have had a few attempts at clearing the loose fibres.

Issatree, I use the mop with Ubeaut's Traditional Wax and have also used it with EEE. I run it on the lathe at max speed which is 2000 rpm on mine.

As yet i havent gotten any collection or build up of loose fibres. I've had mine for three years or more now.

Tiger I don't understand how the loose fibres can ruin your finish . My mop often sheds a few threads but they just fall off the job and I still get a good finish .
Ted

Originally Posted by turnerted

Tiger I don't understand how the loose fibres can ruin your finish . My mop often sheds a few threads but they just fall off the job and I still get a good finish .
Ted

Ted, the fibres stick to the work and I find I have to pick it off with my fingernails, the result then is a blotchy finish with part of the project waxed and part of the project unwaxed.

Could it be too much wax?

Correct me if i'm wrong. It sounds like to much product applied. Its not rmoving it all.

Hi Again Tiger,
I'm with , as that is what it seems to be.
I think 2000RPM. is a little slow.
Do you give it a good wipe, before you use your Mop.
Yes, I think that would drag the threads out, if there was an excess of Wax Paste.
Do you put a lot of Pressure on the Project in hand.
Hope that this helps.

I found prolonging the recommended prepping just prolonged the run-in time. Stop conditioning it and just keep using it. If necessary, polish up some things that are not so critical (e.g. tool handles, etc.) until the amount of shedding is acceptable to you. At some stage the shedding will subside. I rarely find any down in the finished surface after a few years use.

Because the mops retain some of whichever paste you are using at the time, I prefer to use a separate mop for each type of finish.

What type of mop are others using to power polish with EEE?

Perhaps its a combination of rough finish and excessive wax thats pulling the mop apart.
I see your using 40grit sandpaper and a wire brush, not knowing what finish your aiming for. But I normally have a much finer grit for a finish and use the wax or polishing compound sparingly.
Ok I get pull out from the mop but rarely do I have clinging or getting caught on the workpiece unless its very rough or has bark included voids or some such.

A pic would be handy as we are largely flying in the dark.

Excessive wax and low speed in combination could be the issue, I used to make these mops , especially for the metal polishers.

If you are raking the mop with a hacksaw blade you are opening the mop- up and exposing new material, hence the threads on the job, just a smooth straight edge to clean most of the time would be better.

Have you tried spinning the piece in the lathe and the buff in a power drill ??

Also several light coats of finish will give a better end result.

I sand back to 320# finish , burnish with clean shavings , then coat with 2 coats of BLOND Shellac, this is buffed with a clean flannelette cloth, followed by 2 coats of SHELLA WAX, applied to the stationary job , buffing between coats .

Jeff
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