Replies

1. 
   SteveSchoene | Dec 02, 2006 07:15pm | #1

   First thing to try is to remove the dust nibs with a very light use of a card scraper.  You just may be able to knock down enough of them to be satisfactory, without impacting the total surface enough to be of concern.  I'd give this less than even odds of working, but it is worth a try. 

   Next thing to try, after the dust nibs have been knocked down with the scraper,  is to rub down with steel wool--but not real steel wool, the synthetic kind grey pads from 3-M or Mirkla.  This will knock off the satin effect of the satin finish, and replace it with the satin finish of the steel wool.  If you are happy with the match to the satin on the vertical areas you are done.  If not, then you need to do the same thing over the entire surface.  If you do plan to rub down the surface you should wait several weeks for the finish to be well cured.  

   By the way, once you are confident that you have applied the last coat you can use real steel wool.  It will have no more propensity to rust on the surface than using steel wool on oil based finishes.  But between coats it is a no no since rusting while buried in the finish is really nasty.

    

    

2. 
   screename56 | Dec 02, 2006 07:18pm | #2

   What I have done in the past that has worked well for me if it is just dust is pretty simple. Use a 600 grit wet /dry sandpaper available at places like Home Depot.  I will usually just dip my fingers in a container of water and splatter just a little bit on the surface and start sanding. The amount of water is very minimal and the amount of sanding is just a little more than if you were wiping dust off the furniture inside a house. As soon as you finish sanding , wipe it down with a clean, soft cloth,  The 600 grit paper is too fine to cause any scratches on the surfaces whether gloss or satin finish. The 600 is only used after all of your clear coat finishes have been applied. The finish will be as smooth as any piece of furniture built at a factory. I would also recommend after a couple of days for cure time, use a light spray of furniture polish on the horizontal surfaces and wipe them down.  This will end any possibility of paper sticking to the surface in the future.

1. 
   gcg | Dec 02, 2006 07:29pm | #3

   Thanks guys.  I guess I will just spray this last coat and then wait awhile to smooth out the certain trouble spots.  I do have the white fine "scotchbrite" type pads but it didn't seem to do much unless I used a lot of force so I went back to the 320.  I will give it another shot as well as the Norton 600 wet/dry paper that I use as a med grit for sharpening.

1. 
   HowardAcheson | Dec 02, 2006 08:41pm | #5

   >> I do have the white fine "scotchbrite" type padsYou want gray, not white. The white has no abrasive to it. It's primary use is for polishing.Howie.........

3. 
   ring | Dec 02, 2006 08:34pm | #4

   Without a real setup for spraying, you're fighting an uphill battle. But may I suggest that you are probably getting dust settling on the horizontal surfaces while they are still drying. If this is the case, you can help 90% of the problem by making some kind of drying rack, and put a roof over it. That is, lay a sheet of masonite or any sheet just a few inches above your freshly sprayed boards. This will at least keep the ambient dust from settling on them.

   Also, if you're doing a satin finish anyway, after the final coat, sand very lightly with 1500 grit paper. I have an old piece that I use for months just for this purpose.

   DR

4. 
   user-211435 | Dec 03, 2006 11:35pm | #6

    

1. 
   SteveSchoene | Dec 04, 2006 12:26am | #7

   Very profound. 

1. 
   user-211435 | Dec 04, 2006 07:15am | #8

   Oh, I didn't think I posted nothing! 

   I actually wrote a long description of what I thought was going on, since I use a lot of that particular product, but decided to stay out of it for fear that we would turn it into a discussion of what is the best finish, or more specifically, what would Bob Flexner do.

   Hal

   Edited 12/4/2006 12:41 pm ET by Hal J

1. 
   Omah | Dec 04, 2006 05:58pm | #9

   I use wet or dry 600 grit all the way to 1000 with soapy water. It seems like Armor All or something similar  as a finish sacrificer applied after  everthing is dry adds a nice silkyness to the piece.

5. 
   cwalvoord | Dec 05, 2006 12:17am | #10

   GCG,
   I just finished spraying three cherry side tables with General Finishes Pro Series Acrylic. This is the second project I have used it on, the other was 8 cherry doors for our basement, and I have been quite satisfied so far. Not sure how similar the Pro Series Acrylic is to the GF finish you used but I too was sanding with 320 between coats and was not satisfied with the smoothness of the final coat off the gun. I ended up using some 0000 steel wool lubricated with paste wax after it had cured several days and everything got real smooth. I also recall reading a thread on this forum called "finishing the finish" or something like that with some additional ideas on different processes for the final rub out.

   Sounds like you are probably done by now, what did you end up doing and how did it turn out?
   Chris

1. 
   gcg | Dec 05, 2006 01:06am | #11

   Thanks everyone.  I'm going with a couple of the suggestions which were geared toward "finishing the finish".  The bed is in the bedroom now and looks great.  The last coat was Saturday morning. 

   Right now I'm leaning towards 0000 steal wool.  Do I need any type of lubrication with it?  Wax? 

   I'll post pics soon.

1. 
   lsteed | Dec 05, 2006 09:07pm | #12

   Using steelwool with an acrylic or waterbased finish is a recipe for disaster mate . when rubbing with the steel wool ,fine little particles break off and some of these will embed themselves in the finish... with a waterbase finish they will actually rust in time. Either use a solvent based finish or use synthetic steelwool to rub out. The problem with dust you seem to be having on your horizontal surfaces is overspray which falls on the slow drying surface. This is always a problem if the finish you are using flashes off too slow as it does with waterbased finishes. They are not my favorite for that reason. A proper spray booth with adequate heat and great ventilation would lessen that situation. You may get just a good a result with brushing on your finish with a good ox-hair brush and wet sanding between coats.
   At any rate -if you feel the finish is done being applied then wetsand "through the grits" up to and including 800 or 1000 and then rub it out with a fine abrasive such a finishing grit from Mequirs for eg. and then polish to a mirror finish with something like " Brasso". I finish quitars with this for the final rub.

   Edited 12/5/2006 1:20 pm ET by deckerman

1. 
   perryp | Dec 09, 2006 11:45pm | #13

   Great question GC,....

   I'm in the process of finishing some newels (banister posts)for around my basement

   staircase. The posts are made of birch and stained a tone of bourgandy. The finish

   is being done with a product called AQUALUX (its a water based acrylic) as you describe.

   As I'm working in basement shop without any ventilation (not even a window!),

   What has worked well for me is using an air filtre made by Shop Vac. It blows about

   850cfm and cleans the air down to about 5 micron. My shop is only 12'X 17' so

   this filtre does a very good job.

   Also, apply more coats, and keep'm thin.....

   It dries faster and doesn't allow dust to set into the finish.

   Rub between coats with the prescribed grey Scotch pads, they're just abrasive enough to clean up any nibs and give you the flexibility to keep the final coat

   very smooth...

   Best of luck...

   PP in Canada..