Still working on my desktop, but I was away for the weekend and didn't
get anything done (except the application of what should be the last
coat). I've now got 5 coats of MinWax poly on it, the first one Semi
and the rest Satin.

It *looks* pretty decent; a satin finish as would be expected. But I can
still feel some little nibs. So what to do next?

Someone here suggested pumice and rottenstone. I did a little reading
and I think I may try out those abrasives on something (smaller)
sometime soon. But I read an article last night that suggested that the
nibs I'm feeling could be smoothed out with 600 grit paper and paraffin
oil. He wrote that if a Satin finish was what was desired, one could
stop there, or proceed to finer abrasives.

Satin is what I'm looking for (I think), so it sounds like a good idea.

Except...

He says that poly tends to remain as separate layers; sanding through
the top one leaves difficult-to-remove "witness marks". There are
another couple of concepts in the article that seem fuzzy to me as well.

He doesn't mention how long to wait before starting the 600 grit work.
Someone here suggested a month. The last coat went on on Saturday
morning. I have plenty more work to do on the rest of the desk, so
waiting shouldn't be too agonizing.

He says to fold a quarter sheet in thirds. I assume this means to use
that little folded piece by hand, without a block. I guess I could do
that, but it sounds like a pretty small bit to keep a grip on, and might
be difficult to do an even job with as well. Could I use a bigger piece,
or at least some sort of soft block?

He also says I'll need to remove the oil and dust periodically to see
how I'm doing, which seems logical enough, but doesn't say how to do it.
Just wipe? Use a chemical?

I'm thinking of giving the process a try on my test piece, which only
has three coats of poly on it, but it's had a few weeks to cure. Are
three coats too few? Any advice would be appreciated, including
different methods entirely.

Greg Guarino wrote:

Still working on my desktop, but I was away for the weekend and didn't
get anything done (except the application of what should be the last
coat). I've now got 5 coats of MinWax poly on it, the first one Semi
and the rest Satin.

It *looks* pretty decent; a satin finish as would be expected. But I can
still feel some little nibs. So what to do next?

Someone here suggested pumice and rottenstone. I did a little reading
and I think I may try out those abrasives on something (smaller)
sometime soon. But I read an article last night that suggested that the
nibs I'm feeling could be smoothed out with 600 grit paper and paraffin
oil. He wrote that if a Satin finish was what was desired, one could
stop there, or proceed to finer abrasives.

Satin is what I'm looking for (I think), so it sounds like a good idea.

Except...

He says that poly tends to remain as separate layers; sanding through
the top one leaves difficult-to-remove "witness marks". There are
another couple of concepts in the article that seem fuzzy to me as well.

He doesn't mention how long to wait before starting the 600 grit work.
Someone here suggested a month. The last coat went on on Saturday
morning. I have plenty more work to do on the rest of the desk, so
waiting shouldn't be too agonizing.

He says to fold a quarter sheet in thirds. I assume this means to use
that little folded piece by hand, without a block. I guess I could do
that, but it sounds like a pretty small bit to keep a grip on, and might
be difficult to do an even job with as well. Could I use a bigger piece,
or at least some sort of soft block?

He also says I'll need to remove the oil and dust periodically to see
how I'm doing, which seems logical enough, but doesn't say how to do it.
Just wipe? Use a chemical?

I'm thinking of giving the process a try on my test piece, which only
has three coats of poly on it, but it's had a few weeks to cure. Are
three coats too few? Any advice would be appreciated, including
different methods entirely.

This is a total "shot in the dark" but I would like someone to cover this
while answering Greg's question.

In a situation like this, would buffing with "0000" steel wool and a good
wax solve the problem. Being careful, of course, on the edges so you do not
cut through.

Deb

Deb

On 10/24/2011 1:56 PM, Greg Guarino wrote:
Still working on my desktop, but I was away for the weekend and didn't
get anything done (except the application of what should be the last
coat). I've now got 5 coats of MinWax poly on it, the first one Semi and
the rest Satin.

It *looks* pretty decent; a satin finish as would be expected. But I can
still feel some little nibs. So what to do next?

Before you try anything else, grab a grocery bag, cut some 8" "pads" out
of them and rub out your finish with them.

Won't hurt a thing and may be all the abrasive you need.


--
www.eWoodShop.com
Last update: 4/15/2010
KarlCaillouet@ (the obvious)
http://gplus.to/eWoodShop

On 10/24/2011 3:39 PM, Swingman wrote:
On 10/24/2011 1:56 PM, Greg Guarino wrote:
Still working on my desktop, but I was away for the weekend and didn't
get anything done (except the application of what should be the last
coat). I've now got 5 coats of MinWax poly on it, the first one Semi and
the rest Satin.

It *looks* pretty decent; a satin finish as would be expected. But I can
still feel some little nibs. So what to do next?

Before you try anything else, grab a grocery bag, cut some 8" "pads" out
of them and rub out your finish with them.

Won't hurt a thing and may be all the abrasive you need.


Interesting. In this day and age I think you might need to specify
"paper" bags, which don't exist at our local supermarkets. I think I can
still procure some though. Just a layer of paper under my fingers then?
Or can I wrap it around something non-rigid?

On 10/24/11 2:39 PM, Swingman wrote:
On 10/24/2011 1:56 PM, Greg Guarino wrote:
Still working on my desktop, but I was away for the weekend and didn't
get anything done (except the application of what should be the last
coat). I've now got 5 coats of MinWax poly on it, the first one Semi and
the rest Satin.

It *looks* pretty decent; a satin finish as would be expected. But I can
still feel some little nibs. So what to do next?

Before you try anything else, grab a grocery bag, cut some 8" "pads" out
of them and rub out your finish with them.

Won't hurt a thing and may be all the abrasive you need.



I tried the grocery bag thing a while ago (there's a post somewhere) and
I'll do it every time, form now on.


--

-MIKE-

"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com

---remove "DOT" ^^^^ to reply

On 10/24/11 2:48 PM, Greg Guarino wrote:
On 10/24/2011 3:39 PM, Swingman wrote:
On 10/24/2011 1:56 PM, Greg Guarino wrote:
Still working on my desktop, but I was away for the weekend and didn't
get anything done (except the application of what should be the last
coat). I've now got 5 coats of MinWax poly on it, the first one Semi and
the rest Satin.

It *looks* pretty decent; a satin finish as would be expected. But I can
still feel some little nibs. So what to do next?

Before you try anything else, grab a grocery bag, cut some 8" "pads" out
of them and rub out your finish with them.

Won't hurt a thing and may be all the abrasive you need.


Interesting. In this day and age I think you might need to specify
"paper" bags, which don't exist at our local supermarkets. I think I can
still procure some though. Just a layer of paper under my fingers then?
Or can I wrap it around something non-rigid?


Just treat it like you would superfine sandpaper.
Block, pad, hands, whatever you'd use with buffing sandpaper.


--

-MIKE-

"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com

---remove "DOT" ^^^^ to reply

On Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:22:09 -0500, "Dr. Deb"
wrote:

Greg Guarino wrote:

Still working on my desktop, but I was away for the weekend and didn't
get anything done (except the application of what should be the last
coat). I've now got 5 coats of MinWax poly on it, the first one Semi
and the rest Satin.

It *looks* pretty decent; a satin finish as would be expected. But I can
still feel some little nibs. So what to do next?

Someone here suggested pumice and rottenstone. I did a little reading
and I think I may try out those abrasives on something (smaller)
sometime soon. But I read an article last night that suggested that the
nibs I'm feeling could be smoothed out with 600 grit paper and paraffin
oil. He wrote that if a Satin finish was what was desired, one could
stop there, or proceed to finer abrasives.

Satin is what I'm looking for (I think), so it sounds like a good idea.

Except...

He says that poly tends to remain as separate layers; sanding through
the top one leaves difficult-to-remove "witness marks". There are
another couple of concepts in the article that seem fuzzy to me as well.

He doesn't mention how long to wait before starting the 600 grit work.
Someone here suggested a month. The last coat went on on Saturday
morning. I have plenty more work to do on the rest of the desk, so
waiting shouldn't be too agonizing.

He says to fold a quarter sheet in thirds. I assume this means to use
that little folded piece by hand, without a block. I guess I could do
that, but it sounds like a pretty small bit to keep a grip on, and might
be difficult to do an even job with as well. Could I use a bigger piece,
or at least some sort of soft block?

He also says I'll need to remove the oil and dust periodically to see
how I'm doing, which seems logical enough, but doesn't say how to do it.
Just wipe? Use a chemical?

I'm thinking of giving the process a try on my test piece, which only
has three coats of poly on it, but it's had a few weeks to cure. Are
three coats too few? Any advice would be appreciated, including
different methods entirely.

This is a total "shot in the dark" but I would like someone to cover this
while answering Greg's question.

In a situation like this, would buffing with "0000" steel wool and a good
wax solve the problem. Being careful, of course, on the edges so you do not
cut through.

I don't use poly, but I do use a rubbing varnish, Waterlox. Brushed
on, finishes build up very quickly. Rubbed finishes are much thinner
and I try to use 5 or more coats.

Nibs get removed with either a scraper blade, 320/400 grit sandpaper,
or 0000 with J-wax. I like to wait weeks to months before the waxing,
if any.

--
It is characteristic of all deep human problems that they are
not to be approached without some humor and some bewilderment.
-- Freeman Dyson

On Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:39:48 -0500, Swingman wrote:

On 10/24/2011 1:56 PM, Greg Guarino wrote:
Still working on my desktop, but I was away for the weekend and didn't
get anything done (except the application of what should be the last
coat). I've now got 5 coats of MinWax poly on it, the first one Semi and
the rest Satin.

It *looks* pretty decent; a satin finish as would be expected. But I can
still feel some little nibs. So what to do next?

Before you try anything else, grab a grocery bag, cut some 8" "pads" out
of them and rub out your finish with them.

Won't hurt a thing and may be all the abrasive you need.

Yup, as good as 400 paper but 100% cheaper.

--
It is characteristic of all deep human problems that they are
not to be approached without some humor and some bewilderment.
-- Freeman Dyson

On 10/24/2011 2:48 PM, -MIKE- wrote:
On 10/24/11 2:39 PM, Swingman wrote:
On 10/24/2011 1:56 PM, Greg Guarino wrote:
Still working on my desktop, but I was away for the weekend and didn't
get anything done (except the application of what should be the last
coat). I've now got 5 coats of MinWax poly on it, the first one Semi and
the rest Satin.

It *looks* pretty decent; a satin finish as would be expected. But I can
still feel some little nibs. So what to do next?

Before you try anything else, grab a grocery bag, cut some 8" "pads" out
of them and rub out your finish with them.

Won't hurt a thing and may be all the abrasive you need.



I tried the grocery bag thing a while ago (there's a post somewhere) and
I'll do it every time, form now on.

IIRC, guy named Jim Theile (sp) posted it here well over ten years ago,
(1999 or 2000). I've been using it every since myself.

--
www.eWoodShop.com
Last update: 4/15/2010
KarlCaillouet@ (the obvious)
http://gplus.to/eWoodShop

On 10/24/2011 1:56 PM, Greg Guarino wrote:
Still working on my desktop, but I was away for the weekend and didn't
get anything done (except the application of what should be the last
coat). I've now got 5 coats of MinWax poly on it, the first one Semi and
the rest Satin.

It *looks* pretty decent; a satin finish as would be expected. But I can
still feel some little nibs. So what to do next?

Someone here suggested pumice and rottenstone. I did a little reading
and I think I may try out those abrasives on something (smaller)
sometime soon. But I read an article last night that suggested that the
nibs I'm feeling could be smoothed out with 600 grit paper and paraffin
oil. He wrote that if a Satin finish was what was desired, one could
stop there, or proceed to finer abrasives.

Do your self a favor and wrap a piece of paper around a piece of wood
and rub the nibs off. It will take you no time at all and may astound
you as to how well that works.

On 10/24/2011 2:48 PM, Greg Guarino wrote:
On 10/24/2011 3:39 PM, Swingman wrote:
On 10/24/2011 1:56 PM, Greg Guarino wrote:
Still working on my desktop, but I was away for the weekend and didn't
get anything done (except the application of what should be the last
coat). I've now got 5 coats of MinWax poly on it, the first one Semi and
the rest Satin.

It *looks* pretty decent; a satin finish as would be expected. But I can
still feel some little nibs. So what to do next?

Before you try anything else, grab a grocery bag, cut some 8" "pads" out
of them and rub out your finish with them.

Won't hurt a thing and may be all the abrasive you need.


Interesting. In this day and age I think you might need to specify
"paper" bags, which don't exist at our local supermarkets. I think I can
still procure some though. Just a layer of paper under my fingers then?
Or can I wrap it around something non-rigid

ANY PAPER, I use printer paper, in particular the paper that my plans
were on. Any paper will do but you don't want print to rub off.

On Oct 24, 2:56*pm, Greg Guarino wrote:
Still working on my desktop, but I was away for the weekend and didn't
get anything done (except the application of what should be the last
coat). I've now got 5 coats of *MinWax poly on it, the first one Semi
and the rest Satin.

It *looks* pretty decent; a satin finish as would be expected. But I can
still feel some little nibs. So what to do next?

Someone here suggested pumice and rottenstone. I did a little reading
and I think I may try out those abrasives on something (smaller)
sometime soon. But I read an article last night that suggested that the
nibs I'm feeling could be smoothed out with 600 grit paper and paraffin
oil. He wrote that if a Satin finish was what was desired, one could
stop there, or proceed to finer abrasives.

Satin is what I'm looking for (I think), so it sounds like a good idea.

Except...

He says that poly tends to remain as separate layers; sanding through
the top one leaves difficult-to-remove "witness marks". There are
another couple of concepts in the article that seem fuzzy to me as well.

He doesn't mention how long to wait before starting the 600 grit work.
Someone here suggested a month. The last coat went on on Saturday
morning. I have plenty more work to do on the rest of the desk, so
waiting shouldn't be too agonizing.

He says to fold a quarter sheet in thirds. I assume this means to use
that little folded piece by hand, without a block. I guess I could do
that, but it sounds like a pretty small bit to keep a grip on, and might
be difficult to do an even job with as well. Could I use a bigger piece,
or at least some sort of soft block?

He also says I'll need to remove the oil and dust periodically to see
how I'm doing, which seems logical enough, but doesn't say how to do it.
Just wipe? Use a chemical?

Naptha or mineral spirits are good wet-sanding fluids. Both
wipe off clean.

I'm thinking of giving the process a try on my test piece, which only
has three coats of poly on it, but it's had a few weeks to cure. Are
three coats too few? Any advice would be appreciated, including
different methods entirely.

Gray Scotchbrite pad is the fastest way to rub to satin. Not
sure if pumice or rottenstone will bring up a high gloss on
poly.

Dr. Deb wrote:


In a situation like this, would buffing with "0000" steel wool and a
good wax solve the problem. Being careful, of course, on the edges
so you do not cut through.


0000 steel wool would take the nibs dwon, but something like 400-600
sandpaper on a block would work better. The block greatly helps distribute
the abrassive force, and keep the surface flatter than steel wool would do.
It also helps keep the abrassive riding on the high spots (the nibs) and
less on the low spots, whch steel wool would not do.

--

-Mike-

On 10/24/2011 4:45 PM, Leon wrote:
On 10/24/2011 2:48 PM, Greg Guarino wrote:
On 10/24/2011 3:39 PM, Swingman wrote:
On 10/24/2011 1:56 PM, Greg Guarino wrote:
Still working on my desktop, but I was away for the weekend and didn't
get anything done (except the application of what should be the last
coat). I've now got 5 coats of MinWax poly on it, the first one Semi
and
the rest Satin.

It *looks* pretty decent; a satin finish as would be expected. But I
can
still feel some little nibs. So what to do next?

Before you try anything else, grab a grocery bag, cut some 8" "pads" out
of them and rub out your finish with them.

Won't hurt a thing and may be all the abrasive you need.


Interesting. In this day and age I think you might need to specify
"paper" bags, which don't exist at our local supermarkets. I think I can
still procure some though. Just a layer of paper under my fingers then?
Or can I wrap it around something non-rigid

ANY PAPER, I use printer paper, in particular the paper that my plans
were on. Any paper will do but you don't want print to rub off.


BTY if you use a block of wood it distributes the work and it goes faster.

On Oct 24, 5:45*pm, Leon lcb11211@swbelldotnet wrote:
On 10/24/2011 2:48 PM, Greg Guarino wrote:









On 10/24/2011 3:39 PM, Swingman wrote:
On 10/24/2011 1:56 PM, Greg Guarino wrote:
Still working on my desktop, but I was away for the weekend and didn't
get anything done (except the application of what should be the last
coat). I've now got 5 coats of MinWax poly on it, the first one Semi and
the rest Satin.

It *looks* pretty decent; a satin finish as would be expected. But I can
still feel some little nibs. So what to do next?

Before you try anything else, grab a grocery bag, cut some 8" "pads" out
of them and rub out your finish with them.

Won't hurt a thing and may be all the abrasive you need.

Interesting. In this day and age I think you might need to specify
"paper" bags, which don't exist at our local supermarkets. I think I can
still procure some though. Just a layer of paper under my fingers then?
Or can I wrap it around something non-rigid

ANY PAPER, I use printer paper, in particular the paper that my plans
were on. *Any paper will do but you don't want print to rub off.

Butcher paper is cheap, clean, and the best thing
for drawing full-size plans on.

On Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:55:39 -0700 (PDT), Father Haskell
wrote:

On Oct 24, 2:56*pm, Greg Guarino wrote:
Still working on my desktop, but I was away for the weekend and didn't
get anything done (except the application of what should be the last
coat). I've now got 5 coats of *MinWax poly on it, the first one Semi
and the rest Satin.

It *looks* pretty decent; a satin finish as would be expected. But I can
still feel some little nibs. So what to do next?

Someone here suggested pumice and rottenstone. I did a little reading
and I think I may try out those abrasives on something (smaller)
sometime soon. But I read an article last night that suggested that the
nibs I'm feeling could be smoothed out with 600 grit paper and paraffin
oil. He wrote that if a Satin finish was what was desired, one could
stop there, or proceed to finer abrasives.

Satin is what I'm looking for (I think), so it sounds like a good idea.

Except...

He says that poly tends to remain as separate layers; sanding through
the top one leaves difficult-to-remove "witness marks". There are
another couple of concepts in the article that seem fuzzy to me as well.

He doesn't mention how long to wait before starting the 600 grit work.
Someone here suggested a month. The last coat went on on Saturday
morning. I have plenty more work to do on the rest of the desk, so
waiting shouldn't be too agonizing.

He says to fold a quarter sheet in thirds. I assume this means to use
that little folded piece by hand, without a block. I guess I could do
that, but it sounds like a pretty small bit to keep a grip on, and might
be difficult to do an even job with as well. Could I use a bigger piece,
or at least some sort of soft block?

He also says I'll need to remove the oil and dust periodically to see
how I'm doing, which seems logical enough, but doesn't say how to do it.
Just wipe? Use a chemical?

Naptha or mineral spirits are good wet-sanding fluids. Both
wipe off clean.

I'm thinking of giving the process a try on my test piece, which only
has three coats of poly on it, but it's had a few weeks to cure. Are
three coats too few? Any advice would be appreciated, including
different methods entirely.

Gray Scotchbrite pad is the fastest way to rub to satin. Not
sure if pumice or rottenstone will bring up a high gloss on
poly.

Yeah, if it's only poly, it doesn't matter whether or not the finish
is even. With Scotchbrite, it -never- is. Good steel wool, such as
Liberon, is the only way to ensure an even scratch pattern. I love
Scotchbrite and buy it by the box, but this is one place I never use
it. One of the mags did a test and I confirmed it myself, then
stopped using Scotchbrite for finishes, unless it's for complete
_removal_ of a finish.

--
It is characteristic of all deep human problems that they are
not to be approached without some humor and some bewilderment.
-- Freeman Dyson

On Mon, 24 Oct 2011 16:45:06 -0500, Leon lcb11211@swbelldotnet
wrote:
Interesting. In this day and age I think you might need to specify
"paper" bags, which don't exist at our local supermarkets. I think I can
still procure some though. Just a layer of paper under my fingers then?
Or can I wrap it around something non-rigid

ANY PAPER, I use printer paper, in particular the paper that my plans
were on. Any paper will do but you don't want print to rub off.

Around my neck of the woods, the requisite paper can be obtained with
a LCBO purchase. That makes it a double pleasure. Smooth out your
tabletop and get drunk at the same time

On 10/24/2011 8:01 PM, Father Haskell wrote:
On Oct 24, 5:45 pm, Leonlcb11211@swbelldotnet wrote:
On 10/24/2011 2:48 PM, Greg Guarino wrote:









On 10/24/2011 3:39 PM, Swingman wrote:
On 10/24/2011 1:56 PM, Greg Guarino wrote:
Still working on my desktop, but I was away for the weekend and didn't
get anything done (except the application of what should be the last
coat). I've now got 5 coats of MinWax poly on it, the first one Semi and
the rest Satin.

It *looks* pretty decent; a satin finish as would be expected. But I can
still feel some little nibs. So what to do next?

Before you try anything else, grab a grocery bag, cut some 8" "pads" out
of them and rub out your finish with them.

Won't hurt a thing and may be all the abrasive you need.

Interesting. In this day and age I think you might need to specify
"paper" bags, which don't exist at our local supermarkets. I think I can
still procure some though. Just a layer of paper under my fingers then?
Or can I wrap it around something non-rigid

ANY PAPER, I use printer paper, in particular the paper that my plans
were on. Any paper will do but you don't want print to rub off.

Butcher paper is cheap, clean, and the best thing
for drawing full-size plans on.

If you need full sized plans.

On Tue, 25 Oct 2011 06:45:07 -0500, Leon lcb11211@swbelldotnet
wrote:

On 10/24/2011 8:01 PM, Father Haskell wrote:
On Oct 24, 5:45 pm, Leonlcb11211@swbelldotnet wrote:
On 10/24/2011 2:48 PM, Greg Guarino wrote:









On 10/24/2011 3:39 PM, Swingman wrote:
On 10/24/2011 1:56 PM, Greg Guarino wrote:
Still working on my desktop, but I was away for the weekend and didn't
get anything done (except the application of what should be the last
coat). I've now got 5 coats of MinWax poly on it, the first one Semi and
the rest Satin.

It *looks* pretty decent; a satin finish as would be expected. But I can
still feel some little nibs. So what to do next?

Before you try anything else, grab a grocery bag, cut some 8" "pads" out
of them and rub out your finish with them.

Won't hurt a thing and may be all the abrasive you need.

Interesting. In this day and age I think you might need to specify
"paper" bags, which don't exist at our local supermarkets. I think I can
still procure some though. Just a layer of paper under my fingers then?
Or can I wrap it around something non-rigid

ANY PAPER, I use printer paper, in particular the paper that my plans
were on. Any paper will do but you don't want print to rub off.

Butcher paper is cheap, clean, and the best thing
for drawing full-size plans on.

If you need full sized plans.

You need full sized plans to lay out and glue them onto your
store-boughten boards before you cut by the numbers, right?

--
It is characteristic of all deep human problems that they are
not to be approached without some humor and some bewilderment.
-- Freeman Dyson

On 10/25/2011 7:45 AM, Larry Jaques wrote:
On Tue, 25 Oct 2011 06:45:07 -0500, Leonlcb11211@swbelldotnet
wrote:


You need full sized plans to lay out and glue them onto your
store-boughten boards before you cut by the numbers, right?

--
It is characteristic of all deep human problems that they are
not to be approached without some humor and some bewilderment.
-- Freeman Dyson

Other than for irregular shapes or large arcs I never could see the
point to full sized plans. Imagine building a house with full sized
plans. LOL

On 10/24/2011 1:56 PM, Greg Guarino wrote:
Still working on my desktop, but I was away for the weekend and didn't
get anything done (except the application of what should be the last
coat). I've now got 5 coats of MinWax poly on it, the first one Semi and
the rest Satin.

It *looks* pretty decent; a satin finish as would be expected. But I can
still feel some little nibs. So what to do next?

Someone here suggested pumice and rottenstone. I did a little reading
and I think I may try out those abrasives on something (smaller)
sometime soon. But I read an article last night that suggested that the
nibs I'm feeling could be smoothed out with 600 grit paper and paraffin
oil. He wrote that if a Satin finish was what was desired, one could
stop there, or proceed to finer abrasives.

Satin is what I'm looking for (I think), so it sounds like a good idea.

Except...

He says that poly tends to remain as separate layers; sanding through
the top one leaves difficult-to-remove "witness marks". There are
another couple of concepts in the article that seem fuzzy to me as well.

He doesn't mention how long to wait before starting the 600 grit work.
Someone here suggested a month. The last coat went on on Saturday
morning. I have plenty more work to do on the rest of the desk, so
waiting shouldn't be too agonizing.

He says to fold a quarter sheet in thirds. I assume this means to use
that little folded piece by hand, without a block. I guess I could do
that, but it sounds like a pretty small bit to keep a grip on, and might
be difficult to do an even job with as well. Could I use a bigger piece,
or at least some sort of soft block?

He also says I'll need to remove the oil and dust periodically to see
how I'm doing, which seems logical enough, but doesn't say how to do it.
Just wipe? Use a chemical?

I'm thinking of giving the process a try on my test piece, which only
has three coats of poly on it, but it's had a few weeks to cure. Are
three coats too few? Any advice would be appreciated, including
different methods entirely.


I think you might be very pleased with a light rub down with fine steel
wool followed by a good application of paste wax (I happen to use
Trewax Indian Sand. though any non silicone quality hard wax will do) ,
applied with fine steel wool. It leaves an exquisite feel to the finish
that is easy to repair if ever necessary.

On Oct 25, 7:45*am, Leon lcb11211@swbelldotnet wrote:
On 10/24/2011 8:01 PM, Father Haskell wrote:









On Oct 24, 5:45 pm, Leonlcb11211@swbelldotnet *wrote:
On 10/24/2011 2:48 PM, Greg Guarino wrote:

On 10/24/2011 3:39 PM, Swingman wrote:
On 10/24/2011 1:56 PM, Greg Guarino wrote:
Still working on my desktop, but I was away for the weekend and didn't
get anything done (except the application of what should be the last
coat). I've now got 5 coats of MinWax poly on it, the first one Semi and
the rest Satin.

It *looks* pretty decent; a satin finish as would be expected. But I can
still feel some little nibs. So what to do next?

Before you try anything else, grab a grocery bag, cut some 8" "pads" out
of them and rub out your finish with them.

Won't hurt a thing and may be all the abrasive you need.

Interesting. In this day and age I think you might need to specify
"paper" bags, which don't exist at our local supermarkets. I think I can
still procure some though. Just a layer of paper under my fingers then?
Or can I wrap it around something non-rigid

ANY PAPER, I use printer paper, in particular the paper that my plans
were on. *Any paper will do but you don't want print to rub off.

Butcher paper is cheap, clean, and the best thing
for drawing full-size plans on.

If you need full sized plans.

For guitars or guitar-sized objects, 1:1 is best.

On Oct 24, 11:01*pm, Larry Jaques
wrote:
On Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:55:39 -0700 (PDT), Father Haskell









wrote:
On Oct 24, 2:56*pm, Greg Guarino wrote:
Still working on my desktop, but I was away for the weekend and didn't
get anything done (except the application of what should be the last
coat). I've now got 5 coats of *MinWax poly on it, the first one Semi
and the rest Satin.

It *looks* pretty decent; a satin finish as would be expected. But I can
still feel some little nibs. So what to do next?

Someone here suggested pumice and rottenstone. I did a little reading
and I think I may try out those abrasives on something (smaller)
sometime soon. But I read an article last night that suggested that the
nibs I'm feeling could be smoothed out with 600 grit paper and paraffin
oil. He wrote that if a Satin finish was what was desired, one could
stop there, or proceed to finer abrasives.

Satin is what I'm looking for (I think), so it sounds like a good idea..

Except...

He says that poly tends to remain as separate layers; sanding through
the top one leaves difficult-to-remove "witness marks". There are
another couple of concepts in the article that seem fuzzy to me as well.

He doesn't mention how long to wait before starting the 600 grit work.
Someone here suggested a month. The last coat went on on Saturday
morning. I have plenty more work to do on the rest of the desk, so
waiting shouldn't be too agonizing.

He says to fold a quarter sheet in thirds. I assume this means to use
that little folded piece by hand, without a block. I guess I could do
that, but it sounds like a pretty small bit to keep a grip on, and might
be difficult to do an even job with as well. Could I use a bigger piece,
or at least some sort of soft block?

He also says I'll need to remove the oil and dust periodically to see
how I'm doing, which seems logical enough, but doesn't say how to do it.

On Sat, 29 Oct 2011 16:14:00 -0700 (PDT), Father Haskell
wrote:

On Oct 24, 11:01*pm, Larry Jaques
wrote:

Yeah, if it's only poly, it doesn't matter whether or not the finish
is even. *With Scotchbrite, it -never- is. *Good steel wool, such as
Liberon, is the only way to ensure an even scratch pattern. *I love
Scotchbrite and buy it by the box, but this is one place I never use
it. *One of the mags did a test and I confirmed it myself, then
stopped using Scotchbrite for finishes, unless it's for complete
_removal_ of a finish.

Is the Liberon wool any better than the Rhodes brand
0000 sold by HD? Scratch "pattern" on 30 day cured
nitro looked more like it was made by 00. I ended up
recoating and hitting with white Scotchbrite, then
swirl remover.

The difference between the Chiwanese 0000 and Liberon's is night and
day. The Chiwanese looks like 0, comparatively. I still have a
couple bags of old Chiwanese, so I haven't shopped lately for steel
wool. I'd pretty much kept using Liberon's for good work, and
Chiwanese for rust removal, etc. I haven't seen the Rhodes brand.

--
The human brain is unique in that it is the only container of which
it can be said that the more you put into it, the more it will hold.
-- Glenn Doman

On Oct 29, 11:32*pm, Larry Jaques
wrote:
On Sat, 29 Oct 2011 16:14:00 -0700 (PDT), Father Haskell









wrote:
On Oct 24, 11:01*pm, Larry Jaques
wrote:
Yeah, if it's only poly, it doesn't matter whether or not the finish
is even. *With Scotchbrite, it -never- is. *Good steel wool, such as
Liberon, is the only way to ensure an even scratch pattern. *I love
Scotchbrite and buy it by the box, but this is one place I never use
it. *One of the mags did a test and I confirmed it myself, then
stopped using Scotchbrite for finishes, unless it's for complete
_removal_ of a finish.

Is the Liberon wool any better than the Rhodes brand
0000 sold by HD? *Scratch "pattern" on 30 day cured
nitro looked more like it was made by 00. I ended up
recoating and hitting with white Scotchbrite, then
swirl remover.

The difference between the Chiwanese 0000 and Liberon's is night and
day. *The Chiwanese looks like 0, comparatively. *I still have a
couple bags of old Chiwanese, so I haven't shopped lately for steel
wool. I'd pretty much kept using Liberon's for good work, and
Chiwanese for rust removal, etc. *I haven't seen the Rhodes brand.

Rhodes is usually listed in fine print. How's the
shredding with the Liberon?

On Sun, 30 Oct 2011 07:02:25 -0700 (PDT), Father Haskell
wrote:
Rhodes is usually listed in fine print. How's the
shredding with the Liberon?

Can't comment on the steel wool you've mentioned, but I happen to like
the extra fine grade of steel wool I've purchased from Lee Valley. The
longer strands are supposed to be more resistant to crumbling.
http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/pag...at=1,190,43040

On Sun, 30 Oct 2011 10:24:55 -0400, Dave wrote:

Can't comment on the steel wool you've mentioned, but I happen to like
the extra fine grade of steel wool I've purchased from Lee Valley. The
longer strands are supposed to be more resistant to crumbling.
http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/pag...at=1,190,43040

I checked that out, and aside from the fact that it comes in "extra
fine", etc. instead of numbered grades, the description reads just like
Liberon. Wonder if Liberon and Lee Valley get their stuff from the same
manufacturer?

--
Intelligence is an experiment that failed - G. B. Shaw

On Sun, 30 Oct 2011 07:02:25 -0700 (PDT), Father Haskell
wrote:

On Oct 29, 11:32*pm, Larry Jaques
wrote:
On Sat, 29 Oct 2011 16:14:00 -0700 (PDT), Father Haskell









wrote:
On Oct 24, 11:01*pm, Larry Jaques
wrote:
Yeah, if it's only poly, it doesn't matter whether or not the finish
is even. *With Scotchbrite, it -never- is. *Good steel wool, such as
Liberon, is the only way to ensure an even scratch pattern. *I love
Scotchbrite and buy it by the box, but this is one place I never use
it. *One of the mags did a test and I confirmed it myself, then
stopped using Scotchbrite for finishes, unless it's for complete
_removal_ of a finish.

Is the Liberon wool any better than the Rhodes brand
0000 sold by HD? *Scratch "pattern" on 30 day cured
nitro looked more like it was made by 00. I ended up
recoating and hitting with white Scotchbrite, then
swirl remover.

The difference between the Chiwanese 0000 and Liberon's is night and
day. *The Chiwanese looks like 0, comparatively. *I still have a
couple bags of old Chiwanese, so I haven't shopped lately for steel
wool. I'd pretty much kept using Liberon's for good work, and
Chiwanese for rust removal, etc. *I haven't seen the Rhodes brand.

Rhodes is usually listed in fine print. How's the
shredding with the Liberon?

Since I only use it on fresh finishes, generally with paste wax in it,
it hardly shreds at all. I think a small piece will last through a
dozen projects.

It's definitely worth the extra price, a good value.

--
The human brain is unique in that it is the only container of which
it can be said that the more you put into it, the more it will hold.
-- Glenn Doman

On Sun, 30 Oct 2011 16:47:35 +0000 (UTC), Larry Blanchard
I checked that out, and aside from the fact that it comes in "extra
fine", etc. instead of numbered grades, the description reads just like
Liberon. Wonder if Liberon and Lee Valley get their stuff from the same
manufacturer?

We Canadians know what one or two side by side zeros are, but more
than two adjacent zeros such as 0000 grade has us totally confused.

"The extra-fine grade is equivalent to #000/0000, the fine to #00, and the
medium to #1."
How can "extra-fine" be two different grades?


-----------------
"Larry Blanchard" wrote in message ...
On Sun, 30 Oct 2011 10:24:55 -0400, Dave wrote:
Can't comment on the steel wool you've mentioned, but I happen to like
the extra fine grade of steel wool I've purchased from Lee Valley. The
longer strands are supposed to be more resistant to crumbling.
http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/pag...at=1,190,43040
I checked that out, and aside from the fact that it comes in "extra
fine", etc. instead of numbered grades, the description reads just like
Liberon. Wonder if Liberon and Lee Valley get their stuff from the same
manufacturer?
--
Intelligence is an experiment that failed - G. B. Shaw

"Josepi" wrote in
:

"The extra-fine grade is equivalent to #000/0000, the fine to #00, and
the medium to #1."
How can "extra-fine" be two different grades?


Perhaps they mix them, randomly, depending on whatever's cheaper.

Or maybe if the range is something like .10-.20" for one, .20-.30" for the
other, their name grade is .16"-.28" or something. (The numbers are just
for comparison purposes.)

Puckdropper