Grain pop

[Allyn T]

Does grain pop over and over again or does it usually do it once or twice and then it's over? A stain I used made it pop up and I was wondering if in the future I could wet it, sand it, and then apply the finish.

[RyanY]

I’ve found when I purposefully pop the grain with water for sanding I get most of it the first two times sometimes doing it a third time if I really want to make sure to get it all.

[Allyn T]

Thank you Ryan : )

[Hamish]

You need to keep raising the grain, until it stops. In practice 2 or 3 times is usually enough for most bow woods.
If your stain/dye was water based you would in effect be raising the grain again, possibly leaving a poor finish if you hadn't done enough work beforehand.

You can put a wash coat of clear shellac, then lightly sand. Apply the stain, and it should then work well.

[Allyn T]

The stain was vinegar and steel wool, I didn't expect it to pop up at all. Now if I go to try that again I'll wet it all a couple times first

[George Tsoukalas]

Yes, you can dampen it with a wet or rag paper towel, let dry and sand it lightly with 220 and repeat until  the grain stops raising. Jawge.