Replies

1. 
   HowardAcheson | Jun 29, 2006 09:26pm | #1

   The first question is what finish are you planning to use? The harder the finish, the more successful you will be trying to work it to a high gloss.

   The preferred finsishes are lacquer and shellac. They are the hardest and polish the best.

   Oil based varnishes are variable. The short oil varnishes like Behlens Rockhard and Pratt & Lambert rub out well. Long oil varnishes like exteriors, spar and poly are problematic. Particularly difficult is poly varnish. Poly is added to varnish to resist scratching and rubbing out is scratching. It's difficult to get an even and consistant scratch pattern on poly. In general, you will never have a better gloss than that which you get right off the brush. With any oil based finish, it works much better if you allow the finish to completely cure. Keep smelling it. As long as it is emitting an odor, it is still curing. It can take up to 3-4 weeks for a oil based finish to be hard enough to rub out.

   No matter what finish you apply, be very careful about going through the finish. It's easy to do. Be sure you have applied enough finish. But, the more finish you apply, the longer it will take to fully cure.

   Finally, I have never found that using a rubbing compound added anything. 1200 or 1500 W&D paper is about equal to rubbing compound. For power buffing, I go to 1200 and then to a white polishing compound. I follow that with an automotive swirl remover.Howie.........

   
   

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   Edited 6/29/2006 2:32 pm ET by HowardAcheson

1. 
   zombeerose | Jun 29, 2006 11:12pm | #3

   Thanks Howie,
   The finish is a pour-on epoxy that is covering a bar shelf. Normally, I would not touch it after pouring. However, my main problem comes into play because of the molded edges that end up receiving a distorted layer of finish. Therefore, I have to sand/polish some of these edges down as well as catching drips/runs from finishing the vertical surfaces.Thanks again.

   "100 Years" -- scribbled on the wall by a woodworker to remind him to do his best and as a warranty on his work -- "If anything I make fails in the first hundred years, bring it back, and I'll take care of it. After that, there will be a small charge. (Original purchaser only)"

2. 
   SteveSchoene | Jun 29, 2006 09:38pm | #2

   What Howie said, especially concerning the problems with poly or other long oil varnishes. 

   You only need any of the dry sanding in your schedule if you have a lot of problems to sand out.  (And most of the larger things--runs, sags, or drops are actually better dealt with with the gentle use of a card scraper.)  

   You do want the next to the last coat to be very well sanded to ensure it is flat and any defects leveled out.  I use 320 grit almost exclusively between coats, if you go much finer  you reduce adhesion between varnish coats.  Then apply your final coat as perfectly as you can. 

   Then, let varnish cure for a month before beginning the rubbing out process.  A week of waiting would be OK if you used lacquer or shellac.  If things came out OK you can begin with 600 grit, lubricated with mineral spirits or water.  With bigger defects drop back to 400 grit.  (If you lubricate with water add a drop of dishwashing (Dawn) soap just to break surface tension.)  Then go up to 1200 or 1500 grit to smooth the surface.  Remember, you only have one thin coat to rub out, you can't risk oversanding.  If you cut through it, assuming you are working with varnish, you will have to add another coat.  Lacquer or shellac give you more leeway since each coat dissolves itself into the coats below it, so there is no sharp boundary between coats.  You do need to clean the surface between each grit to avoid having a stray bit of larger abrasive create  scratches amongst the smaller scratches of the finer paper. 

   Skip the power buffer unless you have large surfaces, and are a skilled hand with its use.   Don't go to a general duty rubbing compound.  Since you have sanded to 1200 or 1500, you can start with a polish, and finish with a super fine polish or swirl remover if you are looking for the wet look.

   My personal preference is to use rottenstone lubricated with paraffin oil instead of polishing compounds.  This gives a softer gloss, not still not something anyone would call satin or semi-gloss.  Traditional furniture looks really good at this sheen. 

    

   
   

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   Edited 6/29/2006 2:48 pm ET by SteveSchoene

1. 
   zombeerose | Jun 29, 2006 11:13pm | #4

   Thanks for the feedback Steve. See my post to Howie.

   "100 Years" -- scribbled on the wall by a woodworker to remind him to do his best and as a warranty on his work -- "If anything I make fails in the first hundred years, bring it back, and I'll take care of it. After that, there will be a small charge. (Original purchaser only)"

3. 
   pins | Jul 25, 2006 03:58am | #5

   Its not that complicated, but of course the product you use is important. You must use a 'high gloss' finish because others have added to them flateners to reduce gloss.

   Below find a photo of a 4' x 8' table. Poplar dyed dark with analine dye and finished with sanding sealer and Clear Lac. Sanded to 320 and then rubbed out by hand using pumice and then rottenstone. Recently I have been using a Porter Cable 7336 with a 'bonnet buffing pad' that I found at Lowe's. Saves a lot of hand rubbing. The second pix just better shows the color of the wood.

   John

   PS: The waves you see in the second photo are intentional,hand planed.

   
   

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   Edited 7/24/2006 9:01 pm ET by pins

   
1. 
   zombeerose | Jul 25, 2006 07:59pm | #7

   Very nice finish on your table. :)

   "100 Years" -- scribbled on the wall by a woodworker to remind him to do his best and as a warranty on his work -- "If anything I make fails in the first hundred years, bring it back, and I'll take care of it. After that, there will be a small charge. (Original purchaser only)"

1. 
   pins | Jul 25, 2006 09:49pm | #8

   Thank you

4. 
   Jfrostjr | Jul 25, 2006 04:10pm | #6

   I've read the other posts and they all seem like hard, MESSY work compared what I now do.

   Purchase Abralon pads from Jeff Jewett. Run from 500 grit, to 1,000, then 2,000 and finally 4,000. Wet or dry; on your ROS. I go dry; it's neater.

   If you want more gloss, I use a buffing kit from OneWay (the lathe people but I'm sure you can get the supplies elsewhere). Start with a "firm" wheel, probably linen, charged with Tripoli (brown). Follow with a "medium" wheel charged with White Diamond; finish with Carauba wax and a "soft" wheel.

   Now you can shave using the bar top and not have a lot of wet slop all over the place.

   Frosty/Jerry