buffing out a finish

[tlt]

Hi guys,

I'm about to put the last coat of wipe-on poly on a cd cabinet I'm working on...due to recommendations I've read here, I used a homemade 50/50 mix using gloss poly. People recommended using gloss poly as the base because you can buff out the finish to the control the sheen....my question is, what do you buff it with to get it a little less shiny?

Thanks in advance,
tlt

[Pappy]

Either #0000 steel wool is the most common. The grey or white Scotch type pads work well too.

[drumpriest]

A full rub out might look something like this.

1. Build up MANY layers of poly (8-10)
2. wet sand 400 grit
3. wet sand 600 grit
4. wipe dry and steel wool
5. use a medial pumice stone abracive
6. use a rotten stone abracive
7. dry rub with rotten stone
8. see if you are satisfied with the resulting scratch marks (raking light)
9. wax

How far you go may depend upon your sanity. The "rougher" the finish (not that 600+grit is rough), and more dispersion of incoming light occurs, because the surface angle of reflection varies greatly. In graphics we call this sub-surface scattering.

[tlt]

thanks

Great info -- thanks again for the help.