Post Poly Final Coat Recommendations

[Sean Malone]

I've been refinishing my dinning room table this past week and tonight will apply the third coat of poly. I might do a fourth depending on how this one looks. Anyone have any recommendations for the polish coats, I've read everything from automotive polish, to automotive wax to ''varnish polish' to rubbing compound. I'm looking to buff to a high mirror finish.

Thanks!

[Don Quixote]

Bump.
No freaking responses????????? :saywhat:

[G.]

Too many kids.

I buff mine with boogers, mac-n-cheeze, and Lucky Charms flavored milk.

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[cameraman]

I don't use poly...

[datachicane]

This admitted furniture geek sez:
High-gloss finish == incompatible with actual life.

In any case, your poly will eventually require a recoat, and even if you're able to get your polish coat to adhere properly you'll be in for a treat when you have to remove it when that day comes. Did you use a water- or solvent-carrier poly?

[Methanolandbrats]

After the poly cures, sand the **** off. When you reach bare wood, finish sand and oil it.

[extramundane]

I don't use poly...

I thought poly was big in Utah. :confused:

:D

[Sean Malone]

Ok, we finished it (I'll post some pictures this weekend). A quick back story on the table...it's a hand-me-down from my parents that I've had since the early 90's. My parents received it as a wedding present from my dad's parents in '61. It's a Drexel dated '61. Classic post modern contemporary lines that I think looks great throughout the decades although I've had to ward off threats from my wife to get rid of it....which is why I went through the refinishing project. The 3 extension leaves were unfinished back when my parents re-stained the table in the '80's and my wife wants the extension in full time.

I sanded everything to raw wood (my mother claims it is walnut), stained with Mini-Wax (which I think was my first mistake), sanded with 0000 steel wool, applied a coat of Mini-Wax poly with foam brushes, sanded with 0000 steel wool, three more coats of poly sanding between each with 0000 steel wool and then we applied a coat of Wini-Wax finishing wax. After an hour of vigorous (practically frantic as it wasn't coming off!!, hand buffing, after discovering that my 10" car buffer wasn't making a dent in removing the wax) it was done. I was expecting the wax to really pull out the poly layers depth but it really just gave it a better smooth feel (I can slide a towel the entire 10' length).

So the end product is 'different', in that we love the color (a dark red mahogany) and it really accents the natural 45 years distress marks but then there is the contrasting high gloss of the poly which we think, maybe...gives it a bit of an upscale look. I'm guessing that if someone who really knows furniture and proper finishes ever saw it they would chuckle if not laugh out loud but it was a fun little project.

There are some flaws in the finish (a strange orange peel in spots you can see with reflected light) which I attribute to the stain product itself. The Mini-Wax was a 3 in one...stain-sealer-wax so even though I gave it a once over with steel wool, I don't think the first coat of poly was able to absorb properly into the table. Just a guess though.

We already have started a second project. There is a chain called 'Wood You' (mostly in the south but also in MO) that sells unfinished solid wood furniture. My wife was looking for a bar height kitchenette and having no luck (plenty of counter height though). After exhaustive searching at local furniture stores, we stopped at Wood You and bingo, exactly what she wanted. So any tips on finishing this one would be appreciated. She's picked out the color but I don't think we want a 4 coat poly on it, but I know she wants more than just stain.

thanks for responding folks!

[Sean Malone]

Oh and while I'm thinking about it...I recall an episode of 'The Furniture Guys' (cable show 10 years or so ago) and they had a guest come in to demonstrate a varnishing by hand technique. They explained that it wasn't something that the typical 'do it yourselfer' would do and that it was like an old French way of varnishing or something like that (it was 10 years ago so it's foggy). He put the varnish in cheesecloth and then applied to a table with figure 8 motion very quickly, while periodically tightening the ball of cheese cloth. The show hosts tried but the difference in technique was night and day. I remember them saying that it was an 'art form'. So what was he applying? Just a wax or some kind of varnish?

[cameraman]

shellac

http://woodworking.about.com/od/finishing/p/FrenchPolishing.htm

[Sean Malone]

shellac

http://woodworking.about.com/od/finishing/p/FrenchPolishing.htm

Wow! I gotta try that!:D