blueman wrote:


I ended up doing the following:

1. Applied about 6 coats of West System 105 Resin with 207 Clear coat
hardener using a dense foam roller. However as mentioned above, the
roller itself seems to have deposited random fine nibs. I estimate
that the total final thickness was about 30-40 mils. Finish was
applied to all sides including the top, bottom, and sink cutout
area.

You'll soon want to get past that damned roller. Stick around long enough
and we'll have a spray gun in your hand.



2. Started sanding at 220 which was enough to knock down the specks
and smooth out imperfections

I see you are a glutton for punishiment...


3. Wet sanded up to 3000 in increments as follows:
220-320-400-600-800-1200-1500-2000-2500-3000
Probably way overkill but I had the sandpaper from my "Scary Sharp"
method of sharpening steel

Oh stop - you just wanted to do all those steps. Woodworkers can be that
way. Can't tell them a damned thing...



4. Switched to a power buffer with a wool bonnet (bought for about $25
at Harbor Freight)
At first I tried various colored buffing compound sticks but they
did absolutely nothing (probably because very little compound
seemed to transfer to the bonnet from these hard sticks -- perhaps
I was doing something wrong...)

See - ya wouldn't just listen to me, would ya?


So I switched to Automotive rubbing & polishing compound (given that
I had already sanded up to 3000 grit, I found that I could start
with the polishing compound and skip the rubbing compound). The
compounds come as loose pastes that I applied quite liberally to the
vanity surface before buffing.


Yeah - but it takes more work. I'd have hit it with a medium to fine
rubbing compound and then just cleaned it up (if even necessary) with a
swirl mark remover.


I ended up buffing at the highest speed (~3000 rpm) after gradually
ramping up and testing for damage. Note that the buffer never seemed
to damage or dig into the coating too much even with some pressure
and even with extensive buffing - probably due to the hardness of
the epoxy. So, while I was careful, the epoxy coating seemed to be
pretty power buffer friendly. Of course, I kept the buffer moving
to avoid swirl marks.

On flats that's ok. Just be carefule around edges. Even that epoxy finish
will succomb to a buffer around edges. The worst thing you can do with a
buffer is to become overconfident. That only happens once... in a while...


After this the top was BEAUTIFUL and clear like glass -- in fact, if
anything the biggest compliment (and maybe criticism) is that it looks
like glass and not like the wood people are used to from projects.

Oh - what the hell do they know?


However, I think it is still less shiny and sparkling than the
absolutely crystal clear reflective finish from the original epoxy
topcoat. But since the entire top has been polished uniformly, one
doesn't notice that. And it probably looks richer to not have a
mirror-like reflecting surface that catches all the glare.

Picky, picky, picky.

Glad to hear it came up nice for you.

--

-Mike-