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And since you are putting a "hard" finish over a "soft" base, you want
it to be as hard as possible.

For the sake of speed, and for the sake of "less coats means less
chances of problems", I would look for some of Leon's posts here about
using a foam brush to apply the poly. He does very nice work, and he
swears by that method (as do others).

You can literally put down in one pass with the foam brush what it
will take 3 or more passes when wiping. That means with a foam brush,
you can complete the finish your project in one day, not a few.

Robert


Robert the finishing guru referring to my finishes and or techniques.
I'm so flattered!

To explain a fit more on the foam brush technique, I very strongly suggest
you look for and use only a "quality" foam brush. That sounds like an
oxymoron, quality and foam brush... hummm. Anyway Lowe's sells Wooster
brand foam brushes. These brushes have a smaller cell foam and have plastic
handles that also have a ferrule vs. the typical hunk of foam with a wooden
stick poked up its... Look for Wooster foam brushes. The Wooster brushes
are also easily cleaned with thinner when used with oil based products and
can be reused several times. With that in mind a $5 foam brush might work
out to be cheaper.

Anyway I typically use General Finishes Arm-R-Seal when applying a brushed
finish. After sanding to 180 grit I blow off the surface and apply the
first coat with a rag and wipe off the excess. I use this first thin coat
to seal the surface. When using the foam brush to apply the "next and last"
coat I don't want there to be any dry spots where the varnish may soak in.
The first wiped on coat typically prevents any further penetration by the
next brushed coat.

The 3" Wooster brush will typically hold a lot of varnish and typically
covers a three square foot area with only 2 may be 3 trips back to the
can. As with most any varnish, do not over brush. Brush the varnish on and
leave it alone. You want to leave a very wet looking surface. Bubbles
typically will naturally disappear when using the General Finishes product I
mentioned above.

Several years ago I built a couple of walnut night stands and used the exact
same method for the finish. Probably some of my better work.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcb1121...7622991960362/