Before finishing any sort of woodworking project, you need to make sure that all of the dust is removed from the surface. Any dust left on the surface will result in an uneven, bumpy, and generally bad looking finish. In the past, tack clothes have been used for this purpose. Tack clothes are material that has been impregnated with a sticky material to gather up dust. The problem with tack clothes is that they lose tackiness over time, and sometimes the tacky material can be left on the surface of the wood if you rub too hard. If the material is left on the wood, it results in a bad finish.

There's now a much better option. Swiffer products are designed for cleaning floors, but they work just as well at picking up the dust on woodworking projects. Instead of using tackiness to pick up dust and other materials, they use an electro-static charge. They work very well, and there is no risk of a residue being left behind that will affect the finishing of your project.