Dan

I can only comment on what is used with antique wooden furniture.

For the early stuff up to say 1850, wax was the only thing ever used
and should continue to be used for such items. After about 1850 French
polish came into use which gives an almost mirror piano finish - not a
good thing to spill drinks on! Either can still be used successfully
on new items.

Modern 20th century finishes come in a huge variety of types to give
whatever appearance you are after. These should not need polish
afterwards and of course should never be used on antique furniture if
you want to maintain its geniuineness and value.

Simon

On 25 Apr 2006 20:02:27 -0700, "Dan-the-K" wrote:

My understanding, from the last time I finished a piece, is that you
end the finishing by putting wax or polish over the topcoat. That was
30 years ago and it seems today, paint stores and hardware stores have
never heard of this, shall we say, post finish. (BTW, the empire
dresser I finished 30 years ago still looks beautiful.)

I've got about a dozen pieces lined up for the treatment. In general,
I want to sandpaper, stain, topcoat, and then wax or polish. To avoid
incompatibility, I'll use Minwax products. That means Wood Finish for
the stain, polyurethane for the topcoat, and wax for the postfinish.
Sandpaper/steel wool when appropriate

Does this sound right?

Any recommendations on the polish or wax? I think of polish as being
something like Pledge, which is pretty useless. Are there any polishes
that actually do protect? What about wax? Are the Butcher Block and
Minwax waxes good? Any suggestions?

TIA,

Dan