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1. 
   Alan | Oct 07, 2003 02:28am | #1

   KTKAMM,

   So called "satin" finishes are really only gloss finishes with things (silica?) added to make them "satin."  All you really need is the last coat to look satin, not every coat.  Many coats of a satin finish can appear cloudy and dull.  Also, when I first began studying these things, one of the additives to make varnish 'satin' also made the varnish softer--though others here say this is no longer true (believe them; my information is twenty or twenty-five years out of date).

   The best way to get a satin finish is to use only gloss varnish, scuff sand between coats and then rub out the final coat to any degree of shine you want.  Begin with about a 320 or 400 grit wet and dry paper, lubricated with water with a drop or two of soap added, to flatten the surface and eliminate all the little nits that are attracted to drying varnish like Clinton to interns.  Continue wet sanding for another grit or two and then rub out the surface with 0000 steel wool and Wool Lube or more soapy water (the Wool Lube works much better).  I often stop at this point.  A good wax (I brew my own wax) on rubbed-out gloss varnish makes a finish shinier than satin that I like.

   If you want more gloss you can continue on with pumice and rottenstone lubricated with paraffin oil.  Finishing with rottenstone will give a high gloss finish, but without the "too-plastic" look of varnish that's not been rubbed out.

   Varnish has to be rubbed out anyway.  There are always nits and bumps on the surface, and varnish that's not been rubbed out has a very 'plastic' look to it that I don't care for.  Because you must rub it out anyway you might just as well use the process to get the finish you want.

   You can also rub out shellac.  Because shellac dries so quickly and levels itself so well you can usually skip the wet and dry paper.  Just like varnish you can rub it out with steel wool, pumice and rottenstone.  If you want the ultimate finish you can learn to French polish (and then teach me).  It's unnecessary to scuff sand shellac between coats; but you should scuff sand it before coating it with anything else.

   I should add that I avoid poly finishes.  They're better than they used to be, but to me they still have a green tinge and it has a "plastic" look to it that I've never been able to eliminate:  it seems it's either dull or plastic--and sometimes both.

   Alan

   (going on too long--as usual)