Mike,
I'm not parroting, I'm backing up my experiences with literature. Can you?
Show me where you have read that rubbing out a finish doesn't produce a
gloss. Maybe your not doing it right. Have you thought about that?
I put a glossy finish on poly by first rubbing with 0000 steel wool followed
by pumice.
One of the purposes of rubbing out a finish are to put a "gloss" on the
finish.
You said you can't put a gloss on a finish by rubbing out. I simply
disagree.
"Mike G" wrote in message
...
Tell you what, when you figure out what depth in a finish is and can get
your grain to appear to actually be 3D come back and talk to me.
There may be some difference in the definition of gloss but you obviously
don't have any idea what you are talking about and are parroting something
you read.
Of course you can stay blissfully ignorant if you wish, that is your
business.
--
Mike G.
Heirloom Woods
www.heirloom-woods.net
"stoutman" .@. wrote in message news:M6jPb.92624$sv6.329504@attbi_s52...
If you have rubbed out a finish on a nicely figured wood and have to
question the statement of having depth and 3D effect you have been
doing
something wrong.
You have been rubbing out finishes for years and you can't make a finish
glossy?
Do you think maybe YOU are doing something wrong?
"Mike G" wrote in message
...
No, I've just been rubbing out finishes for years.
If you have rubbed out a finish on a nicely figured wood and have to
question the statement of having depth and 3D effect you have been
doing
something wrong.
As for gloss. Next time you apply a finish and the final coat has
cured
hold
it up to a glancing light, or even just plain looking at it. 90% of
what
you
will see is light being reflected off of the surface of the surface of
the
finish. That is gloss. Now, really rub out that finish. Yes, you are
putting
scratches in the surface and when they disappear to the eye see where
the
light gets reflected from.
Now, if you want a more easily seen example of what rubbing out is all
about
go to a car show and take a look at a cobalt blue metal flake hand
rubbed
12
coat layer of automotive lacquer looks like. You won't see any light
reflected off the surface of that finish, what you will see is a
finish
that
practically glows from the interior with a real sense of depth.
--
Mike G.
Heirloom Woods
www.heirloom-woods.net
"stoutman" .@. wrote in message
news:dJcPb.89286$Rc4.436318@attbi_s54...
Mike,
You are WAY off on this one.
Rubbing out a finish puts finer and finer scratches on the surface
creating
more of a sheen (glossy). Glossy is the aim of rubbing out a
finish.
Reflect light off the wood?? 3D effect on wood grain???
I think you might have been breathing in to much lacquer thinner
this
morning. 
"Mike G" wrote in message
...
I'd have to agree with that last on several points.
Varnish is quite a bit harder then shellac or lacquer. Poly even
more
so,
something that makes varnish more prone to cracking from wood
movement
then
shellac or lacquer. It's the reason spar varnish (a long oil
varnish)
is
marketed. The additional oil makes the varnish not quite as hard
so
it
can
accommodate the movement of wood that is exposed to the greater
extremes
found out of doors.
Further, while it is far more labor intensive rubbing out the
harder
finish
the harder the surface it can be rubbed out to as good a finish as
lacquer
or shellac. If you want glossy don't rub out the finish. Glossy is
not
the
aim of rubbing out the finish. Rubbing out is a process who's aim
is
to
remove the reflective gloss of a newly applied finish then refine
it
so
the
light passes through the surface and reflects off the wood giving
the
finish
a sense of depth and the wood grain a 3D effect..
--
Mike G.
Heirloom Woods
www.heirloom-woods.net
"Preston Andreas" wrote in message
...
If you are math oriented, the finish cures with a logarithmic
curve.
This
means that in a month, it is 98+% cured, however, within a week,
it
is
probably 80% to 90% cured. It is best to wait a month, but
realistically,
you can rub it out in a couple of weeks. You must remember
however,
that
poly is not as hard as lacquer or shellac and cannot be rubbed
out
to
as
glossy a finish.
Preston