I just refinished the top of a maple veneered kitchen table. I’m on my 4th coat of polyurethane, whats the best way to buff out the final coat without dulling the semi-gloss finish. I was going to paste wax it after the finish hardens a couple days.
By the way I used the festool Rotex 150 sander and sanded down to 400 its an amazing system.
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First don't wait a couple of days. Give it a full month to cure--varnish continues to shrink over that period, and it gets harder, another help to rubbing out, especially with poly which is almost too soft to rubbout well. Then, when its time put away the power sander, sand lightly with 600 grit to remove dust nibs, then scuff with about 1200 grit. To stay at semi-gloss use fine pumice as a rubbing compound on a felt pad lubricated with paraffin oil. (Had you used gloss varnish the proceedure would be the same.)
You can also try synthetic steel wool, lubricated either with wax, or with water. If you use water, add about two drops of a dishwashing soap like Dawn.
While you are waiting, make a test panel on scrap of the same wood and varnished the same as the project. That way you can test the look without risk.
Thanks for the help Steve
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