I placed a final coat of Rock Hard Maple Table Top finish on a buffet piece and after returning to the shop I found it had dozens of very small nubs in spots (dust settled as my air cleaner had shut donw). I dread the though of sanding and scuffing and doing another coat as this material is very durable but takes days to dry properly.
Any thoughts on buffing or ?? to get the coat smooth.
As always Thanks
Replies
You should expect to have to rub out any varnish finish, since dust is inevitable. I doubt you will have to add an additional coat. First thing to do is to be patient. You shouldn't rub out varnish until it has had a month to fully cure. If you do it prematurely, it will continue to shrink negating the smoothness you will achieve. The extra time will allow it to fully harden, also making it easier to rub out. I would start with 600 grit, and then progress to 1200 or 1500 grit. Don't go crazy here because you do want to avoid cutting through that last coat. Then when the dust is gone, I shift to a felt pad with rottenstone, lubricated with paraffin oil. This gives a very nice mellow gloss. If you want higher gloss you would go to really fine polishing compound, or "swirl remover".
Alternatively, you can use a scraper (perhaps even a single edge razor blade) to very gently knock off the dust nibs. You can usually go directly to the 1200 grit, or even to the rottenstone stage if everything else is very smooth.
You can also use paper a brown paper (grocery) bag to remove dust nibs, if they are few in number and everything else is jake.
thanks i will give it a few more weeks and take your approach.
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