how to eliminate wood "whiskers"?

[ccarolyn]

I recently bought some of the pre-made fancy wood decorations - with lots of curly features to add to some woodwork.

But, alas, when I painted the previously smooth surface, it grew "whiskers". So I had to painstakingly sand each part and it never looked as well as beforehand.

Obviously I am doing something very wrong. Is there some sort of dry sealer I should have used before painting these decorations?

Can you help?

Thank you in advance, :-)
ccarolyn

[Keystone]

There are several ways to get rid of the "whiskers". Some wood is more prone than others to this problem. I have found that by sraying a SMALL amount of water on to the wood, let it dry, and then remove the whiskers works for me. I do this prior to finishinf the wood with stain and or Shellac. If you have already painted, sand it smoothe, apply sanding sealer, and repaint.

[Lou_williams]

You used a water based paint, right? The issue with water based stuff is that it will raise the grain a lot. Shellac, lacquer, oil based varnish will do it buy much less. How much the grain is raised is based a lot on the type of wood, and how it has been machined.

It is very common to lightly dampen the surface to cause the grain to raise first and then a very light sanding works to remove the problem. On decorative carvings this can be a lot of work. I would use a very light (spit coat) of shellac. About a 1 lb cut. I would also spray it on. There are wonderful little spray cans that work with plastic bottles that let you spray small amounts of material that you mix. I get mine at a Kelly Moore Paint store.

This will raise a small amount that you could very lightly sand off. Then you can cover the shellac with anything you want.