On Apr 23, 1:26 pm, "
wrote:
On Apr 23, 7:49 am, Mike wrote:

I've finished putting the final coat of Helmsman on my bar
top and it looks absolutely stunning!

SNIP

Any other suggestions/recommendations?

Congrats on the new top!

Beware of any advice you get on the processes you are asking about
from anyone.

Agreed - that's why I didn't simply jump into the wet sand/polish
step.

No one knows how thick you put the finish on. Less finish means less
material to sand off and polish. If your final desired thickness is
somewhere around 3 - 4 mil, you may only be a little thicker than
that now. Hitting it with sandpaper, then buffing it out through the
grades of polish to get out the scratches left by 400 grit could
easily take the coating down to a thickness top that is too thin to be
useful as a bar top. Bar tops take a pretty good beating.

Just my 0.02 here, but an exterior rated varnish wouldn't have been my
first choice for the project.

I went to various manufacturers websites to research the available
products (granted, advice from the manufacturers can also be
suspect). Minwax specifically recommends Helmsman for bar tops. My
primary concern was water and chemical (alcohol) resistance. This
product seems to address that issue. And the gaudiness of the high
gloss is absolutely perfect for a bar top, IMO! That's exactly the
look I was shooting for. I used their 'Fast Drying' polyurethane for
the sides and knocked the gloss down with steel wool. That also came
out just right, although I'd probably simply buy the satin finish if I
had to do it again. The difference in the 'feel' is obvious, though.
The top definitely feels 'softer' than the sides, though not
disturbingly so. I'm confident that I can address any issues that
come up an a few years, though.

[...]

Be careful in what you do, and if you are 95% happy with your finish I
would leave it alone. You know where all the faults are, so you see
them when you look at them. Others won't, and you will move onto
other projects.

Good point. My satisfaction is actually a bit higher than 95%, so it
looks like it's going to stay just the way it is.

If it turned out the way you wanted that's the best thing. Even
without the abrasion resistance of a harder finish this one should
last a long time with some care.

Thanks for your comments,
-Mike