Came home today and immediately checked out the final coat of poly on a piece I’m finishing. Looks great except for one very, very fine, 3/8″ long cat hair. Ach!
So, what’s the best way to get it out and blend in the spot. Do I need to go after it with a bit of sandpaper, a straight pin, or would it rub out with some wax?
forestgirl — you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can’t take the forest out of the girl 😉
Replies
I'd start with less abrasive ways first. By all means if you can pull the hair out go for it. To feather the finish I'd start with some burlap cloth and paste wax and get more aggressive from there if needed to, 0000 steel wool, sandpaper etc.
Good luck,
Dale
One of this months WW magazines shows prying/cutting the hair out with a razor blade.
FG
He beat me to it, but I was going to suggest the razor blade. But I use a double edge blade (thinner than a "scraper" blade) with light pressure in the middle using one finger. Then I touch up with a finely pointed artist's brush and poly or whatever. Since the cat is the only one interested in seeing what I'm doing in the basement, I've done this a few times.
Stan
i was going to suggest using burlap, water and a stone- specifically a burlap sack and a stone that's heavy enough to get to the bottom of the nearest reasonably deep body of water. ;)
m
No, no, no! She is a precious kitty, and will not be chastised for shedding, let alone sunk.
I swore several years ago I'd never have another long-haired cat, but then a friend offered me a Maine Coon cat free for the taking. It's like living with a resident clown, and the sheer entertainment value is well worth the occasional finishing snafu. Think silly dog in a cat's body. Comes when I whistle (most of the time), travels well, sits up and begs and has a 37" reach when she stands on her hind legs. forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I have wanted a Maine Coon cat for years.Hard to find in my area, and EXPENSIVE.I will get one someday,tho.what the heck was I thinking?
They are wonderful cats! I had wanted one for years also, but spending hundreds of $$ was not in the stars. My last kitty had passed away several months before, and there was no hurry to get another since my partner's cat was keeping me company.
However! When this friend told me she needed a home for a Maine Coon, I was all ears. The gal's parents had a breeding pair, and gave her one of the kittens. However, her other cats were constantly harrasing the newbie, and she decided she should find a home for her. Enter: ME!
She was very shy at first -- I think living in a house with several grouchy cats and 2 small children had sent her into her shell. I turned her into my own special girl, with lots of attention and lap time, and her personality has blossomed. She is very much "my" cat, but she's friendly with others also. She's a mighty hunter, which I try to confine to mice -- she also likes birds and snakes, but I've found ways to curb her success there. She's a talker, but always in a sweet lyrical voice (except when she's in heat, yikes!) and she is big. Nearly a yard from the tip of her nose to the tip of her tail. I just hope she doesn't ever get fat!
Maybe you could get to know a good breeder and find a "pet quality" cat (that is healthy) and get it at a good price. Around here, even the MC-crosses go for around $150. I think the pure-breds are around $400 maybe. Hope you get to have one some day!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
F_G When I saw the title of the post there was no doubt in my mind as to who the originator was. LOL...
Nice to hear you've solved the problem. I recently had a somewhat similar problem, not with a cat hair though. I bought a brand new Acuflow brush that shed just like a cat in the beginning of summer. I thought that I had all of the hairs out but there was one last one that I missed. I popped it out with a razor blade then smoothed it off with a little of the same (spar varnish) finish and a sliver of sponge. It worked great but I can't say that this is the best way, just something that worked on this occasion.
BTW: The other end of the solution is to always buy Purdy brushes or short hair cats. Personally.. No more cats for me.. I do have a cool Canton Mini Rex rabbit now... Her name is Wabbit.
Edited 1/16/2003 11:40:14 PM ET by no one
Maybe we should start a new thread on shop cats. I have one, a Tonkinese that comes running every time she hears a tool being used. I think she has the same opinion about woodworking as you do about your Maine Coone's antics (great entertainment, those crazy humans...). She does have a bad habit of peeing on my douglas fir, though, so I have to watch her when she gets close to the wood. She's more of a maple cat, like me.
We can use this one as a cat-thread! Shop kitties: welllllll, I don't dare let Sophie in the shop when I'm working. Although Maine Coons aren't supposed to be all that "vertically oriented" per one book I read, she did not get the message. She jumps up on everything (when she was still on kitten food, I used to feed her on top of a 6.5' tall bookcase to keep the old fat cat away from the food).
Pees on your wood, eh? Sounds like jealous-cat behavior to me, LOL. forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
You're right-since she doesn't want to wear ear muffs, I kick her out when I use power tools. More jealous than her I have never seen in a cat. She hasn't accepted the last cat that wandered in to our house as thin as a shaving. She's getting better, though. No choice. She does some crazy things too, like throwing her toy mice into a shelf of books or cans, just so she can chuck everything onto the floor to dig it out. She cleans up after my old cat too: when he eats he makes an awful mess because he has no teeth; half of what she eats are his bowl overflows. She can watch me pare or finish a piece for hours on end without budging; quite incredible. She'll sit between my legs when I'm fixing some flooring with a hammer, and she loves playing with shavings. But I have to watch that B.C. fir (that's the only wood that reminds her of the youngun', I guess).
It sounds like you belong to a great cat. :-)
The qualities you describe are why I have wanted one for so long. Like you, I cannot spend $500 on a pet. Also, for the moment, I am babysitting my older sons' cat while he is away at college. So, maybe it will work out in time. My feeling is that you don't find a cat, it finds you.
jwwhat the heck was I thinking?
Don't lose hope, Heck. I got my Tonkinese at a clearance sale (the one nobody wanted) for $100 Canadian (that's 10 US $); my fifteen year old tabby and my young white/tabby both found me in the alley. I don't know if there are many Maine Coones in your area, but breeders often sell substandard (I'm talking sub-show standard... ) cats for much less than the usual (ridiculous) price. I can't tell the difference...and I guess the idea of substandard kind of appeals to me, if its not a woodworking machine. Visit a cat show once in a while or give a breeder a call; you never know...
For the big breeders, all it takes is a little less-than-perfect shape of the nose or set of the ears, and they're not show-quality. A little kink in the tail maybe, or the dreaded polydactyly (more than 5 toes). Yikes! I can't even image Sophie with 6 toes. Her mitts are already huge. Some kittens may not be a "recognized" color. For instance, MCs can come in just about any color but a diffuse "agouti." Soph may fall into that category -- she looks like a tabby and her face markings and legs qualify, but the stripes kinda give out when they get to her body. Someday I'll find out.
The main thing is to be sure they're healthy. Just about any breed will have certain health problems to watch for: enlarged heart, hip problems, whatever. forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
This topic got my attention. I, too, was a woman working wood with a big old Maine Coon cat at my side--his name was Mike. Mike died of a stroke two years ago at 20 years old, and I miss him so much even now. He was the most affectionate cat I have ever lived with, a huge big old fellow, very beautiful. He grew deaf in his old age and started spending much time in my woodshop with me, even when the planer was running! Now that he's gone, the mice have returned to my shop(chewey little monsters). I've got 5 other cats and two big dogs, but I plan to replace Mike with a Maine Coon kitten this spring. For any of you out there who want a wonderful feline companion, I couldn't agree more that Maine Coons are truly a fine choice. I'm new to this site and am pleased to see that there seems to be another woman out there making sawdust, forestgirl. I'm looking forward to getting to know this site and meeting some of you all. Good woodworking to you all!
Welcome, Cat! From whence do you hail? Are you in the East, the middle or the left-hand coast? Hope you have fun here and Knots. There are several of us "gals" mixed into this fine forum.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
hi, and thanks for the "welcome", forestgirl. i live in indiana, where the hardwood is plentiful, and have been building furniture since i was a child (a dad/grandpa/great-grandpa thing!). i'm incredibly grateful that my dad saw fit to teach his girl the trade, too. most of my female friends didn't have such an open-minded male figure in their childhood! the topic here, it seems, started out with a cat-hair-related finishing problem, and i think i better get us back to that before someone gets tired of the girlchat thing! i removed a pawprint from a varnish finish that was nearly dry by dissoving it with just a little solvent and letting it dry, then steel wooling the spot with 0000 later. i wasn't done building the finish yet when this happened, and wonder if the trick might have failed had i already built up several coats when mike laid his big hoof down in my varnish!? i hope i don't have to ever find out on something i've spent days finishing! some finishes, as i'm sure you know, aren't very forgiving of foreign intrusions and you get to start all over!
Finishing is by far the process that most intimidates me in woodworking. It never bothered me much when I was re-finishing used furniture and antiques because (a) I didn't put in the time to build the darn thing and (b) I was usually doing a mild restoration, not completely stripping and refinishing.
Ahhh well, practice makes (almost)perfect, right?forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Indeed, forrestgirl--finishing can sometimes be the enemy around here. Right now it's colder than dry ice, and in just a few months, the humidity will be close to 100%. Oh, the challenges we must face! Poor me, the wood makes me do it!
"...for the moment..." Ooooooh, you are so optimistic! My partner's cat that I mentioned? We've been babysitting her (for his son) for nigh-onto 10 years now. HarHarHar. Reverse-inherited his dog too, but sadly she's gone now.
Yes, I think you're right that the special cat puts itself in your path at the right time. The last one I had was as cute as a bugs ear. I saw her in a cage at the mall on adopt-a-pet day (more than 15 years ago). Despite the fact that I was at hyperspeed trying to get home and get ready for a 3-day horseshow, I fell in love at first sight. I reached right over a poor young (adolescent) girl, grabbed the cage, paid and off I went.
Got home, tossed the totally bewildered kitty into the house with my older cat and took off for the horse show. She was really glad to see me when I got back! We were soul mates for 13 years or so before she died. forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
"Since the cat is the only one interested in seeing what I'm doing in the basement, I've done this a few times." Toooo funny. Thanks.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Hi Forestgirl,
Even before burlap I would try an old piece of cotton denim, then move to the burlap. Nothing to loose.
Bill
I went with the 4-ought steel wool and a touch of wax for lubrication. Took it off without leaving any gouges. Just realized, though, that I touched the spot up with varnish, forgetting to clean whatever wax residue there was. Hmmmmm, hope that doesn't cause a problem later. Oh well.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
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