I got this block, and I wanna do the top in a really nice gloss finish, I think sand 220, coat, sand 320, coat, sand 600, coat, sand 1500, coat. Any ideas on how to polish it?
#Butcherblock poly gloss help
velvet cargo
poly will continue to harden for awhile after the initial cure. If you can afford to wait, it'll be easier to polish.
Wet (flat) sanding should be enough, though I'd probably go to 2000 for a high gloss finish. Some people will buff with an automotive compound beyond that.
How well you flat sand between coats will have the most impact on the final finish.
orchid kayak
poly will continue to harden for awhile after the initial cure. If you can affor...
I have about a week to two
velvet cargo
By 30 days it's usually full hardness. It looks like you're using oil based poly?
orchid kayak
Yes
240 orbital to start, 340 after first coating, 600, then 1500 before final coating.
After that you're saying a wet sand at 2000?
After the 2000, what would I need to buff?
candid rune
Poly will not bond properly if you sand at that high a grit between coats. 400 is about the absolute max if you're feeling lucky.
velvet cargo
yeah, I missed that part. don't move up the grits until you've laid down your final coat. Orbital is fine for that, but for the wet/flat sanding I'd get/make a sanding block. The mirror quality comes from the surface being perfectly flat more than polishing to a high grit
fossil bronze
Would you recommend a number of coats with say 220 between them to build volume before polishing ?
icy python
buffing poly feels like a brave plan as getting an even coat without spraying is nigh impossible
velvet cargo
Would you recommend a number of coats with say 220 between them to build volume ...
For me it depends on how many coats it takes to get flat. If I'm not going for a glossy finish I usually just do the recommended number of coats.
If spraying isn't an option General Finishes Arm-R-Seal Gloss can be wiped on with good results. You'll need at least 3 coats, but it goes on thin so the leveling goes quick.
wary hill
As someone who has two poly covered table tops, can confirm it's a bitch to get right. And to expand, one of my tops wasn't cured enough and after polishing developed the orange peel effect.
orchid kayak
As someone who has two poly covered table tops, can confirm it's a bitch to get ...
Today, I'm doing the unpoly side, I'm going to sand it first with 220, then let it cure for 2 days, sand again, add a layer, cure for 2 days, 320, add a layer, sand once more, and be done if that's enough. But I'm trying to take the advice from all of you guys
orchid kayak
If spraying isn't an option General Finishes Arm-R-Seal Gloss can be wiped on wi...
I only got this behr poly gloss on me :/ and boy after sanding, I didn't think I'd need to, but definitely did!
I'll add a couple pictures once I'm back in the shed boys
orchid kayak
Sanded down with 220, has side stains, all messed up, just through more poly on, sand 600 tomorrow, another layer, then 1200, hate this thing man :/
Wanna burn it
wary hill
Getting a good poly finish is a slow slow process
fossil bronze
Please recall what @candid rune said.
#1127994964102623252 message
Build your coats, wait for it to harden, polish it, is going to be the gambit, and as QP said without spraying, it's gonna be tough.
Both of those chaps know their stuff inside out. please heed them.
winter heron
One of my first projects was a butcher block desk and I wanted a gloss finish. Not a big fan of it now, but I did it with brushed on poly. It really does take quite a bit of time, effort and mess, you need to build up enough coats to be able to sand them all even and then do your polish/rubout/whatever you call it
orchid kayak
I'm about to sand it 600, throw down another coat, sand 1200.
Got some polish, ceramic coating, and detail spray on the way
past stratus
As stated above: Poly will not bond properly if you sand at that high a grit between coats. 400 is about the absolute max if you're feeling lucky.
If you sand to 600 then put on another layer, it might flake off over time.
What you want to do is build coats at 220 or so then your last coat you work through the grits up to your final polish, all without adding any additional poly.
I ended up using car polish and a detailing pad on a drill to get the final sheen on my desk.
And you’re going to want to let it cure for at least a week before you do that, otherwise the poly will be too soft and you’ll eat right through the layers even at higher grits (ask me how I know!)
fossil bronze
I'm about to sand it 600, throw down another coat, sand 1200.
Got some polish,...
Dude,BK told you, and I told you to read what BK told you, about sanding above 320 with Poly.
And now Doc here is telling you the same thing again.
Who needs to tell you before you'll pay attention?:D
Once more for luck: #1127994964102623252 message
orchid kayak
Who needs to tell you before you'll pay attention?:D
It's not the sanding Mr complex
It's brush streaks, circles, etc
The sanding isn't the issue, it's me applying it.
rose carbon
I think the confusion is that you asked for and received advice but are doing the opposite.
Your chosen method to solve your streaky application will introduce a different issue, that's what's been communicated.
orchid kayak
I'm sanding it to base, changing brush type to foam.
rose carbon
Ok good luck!
fossil bronze
Ok let's give it one more go. If I'm wrong with this, someone please correct me because this is how I'd do it :S
Sand the base material to 220, via 120-180-220.
Apply a coat of poly.
Give it the recommended drying time been coats (see tin).
Sand at 220, don't go bananas.
Apply another coat of poly.
Give it the recommended drying time been coats (see tin).
Sand at 220, don't go too nuts.
Apply another coat of poly.
Let this now dry for a week. This will allow it all to cure and harden up.
Now start sanding with the aim of total flatness, and working through the grits to 2000 & a polisher.
You're building up a "thick" film of several layers and then you're getting the whole stack flat, rather than trying to polish each intermediate layer.
This is why people spray this stuff on, so that the last coat is just left alone to be shiny by itself
eager sonnet
If you are having trouble with leaving brush marks you can try thinning the poly and applying a 4th coat. Thinning makes the poly self level better and might reduce your sanding/polishing time. I go with a ratio of about 3:1 and I apply it using a folded shop towel.
#notafinishingexpert
velvet cargo
You can do thin coats of poly (and should IMHO) but you'll end up needing 6-8. You don't even need to sand in between coats, you can do a light scuff with a grey 3m pad or even a piece of paper bag to just knock the dust nibs out.
Whether you sand between coats or do all the sanding before the final coat the goal is to flatten out the hills and valleys. Final coat, done.
Personally, that's where I'd leave it. Buffing it out can make it look less glossy if you're not adept at doing a rub out
Buffing some wax over the top can give you some extra shine without having to to through the wet sanding/buffing process
Another trick for high gloss is to do the final coat with rattle can poly.
orchid kayak
Ok let's give it one more go. If I'm wrong with this, someone please correct me ...
Sanded with 180 still has some haze of the poly
How do I clean up the rest of the wood?
I don't wanna rush this guys, I'm paying attention, and won't stray
fossil bronze
Haze will vanish as a subsequent layer fills in. Once you've built your film and it's cured, then you're polishing
orchid kayak
Haze will vanish as a subsequent layer fills in. Once you've built your film and...
I think tomorrow I'm going to continue sanding, can still see poly brushes, and stains
winter heron
Not sure what you mean by stains, but you may as well keep building coats if you're looking for high gloss, as you're going to build a thick coat, then sand flat anyway, removing brushmarks in that process
orchid kayak
So now I need the input from everyone: I can let it cure for a week, then sand 1500, followed by 3000? This is 3rd coat. Looks great to me, what's the take?
Do I sand 320 again, and do another coat? I wanna cover all basis
wary hill
If it were me and I was happy with how it is now, I'd step back and let it cure.
past stratus
You should let it cure. You only need to go to lower grits if you have a lot of material to remove, like if you need to take down ridges between passes and other imperfections to get it smooth.
orchid kayak
You should let it cure. You only need to go to lower grits if you have a lot of ...
Okay, a week sound okay?
orchid kayak
If it were me and I was happy with how it is now, I'd step back and let it cure.
What is recommended
wary hill
Prior recommended advice in this thread was a week at least for curing.
fossil bronze
The can or MDS will tell you
velvet cargo
That looks pretty good to me. I would probably wait a week, buff some paste wax into it and call it a day
You can get a buffer/wool attachment for your orbital sander
I also like to buff in wax with pieces of a brown paper bag
candid rune
Minimum. If it were me I'd wait a month.
You need the poly hard to polish it
What will be your litmus test is how it reacts to the sandpaper. If it forms little balls or rolls it is way too soft, if it forms bumps on the paper it is closer but still too soft.
It needs to make dust and only dust, otherwise it'll never sand out to gloss.
orchid kayak
Minimum. If it were me I'd wait a month.
I just sadly don't got that amount of time
candid rune
Well, maybe you can beat Carnot this time
icy python
Reality can be defeated, I believe in you
fossil bronze
Don't have, or are unwilling to spend?
If you hit that thing with a buffer and it isn't hard, you're going to need a whole lot more time to fix it.
Weigh that decision carefully.
velvet cargo
It needs to make dust and only dust, otherwise it'll never sand out to gloss.
I should note that I've had several different cans of poly from box stores that never reached this level of hardness, either from being stored in the heat and/or on the shelf way too long
orchid kayak
I'm going to wait one month from today, I sanded it 320, wiped clean, threw on another coat (wasn't happy eyeballing it) so I figured, let's keep doing it right. Added the layer, now, we're onto waiting. Once cured.
1500 grit, 3000 grit sanding
Buff compound, polish compound, graphene coat.
Thennnn I can install it on the legs, and start building the setup
candid rune
- You're going to need to start coarser and really work your way methodically up. 400 or so until it is totally flat, then going up a little at a time to work out the scratches. Like 400-600-800-1000-1200-1500-2000-3000
- Polish away, but skip the graphene. There is no reason to put one of those products on this, but many reasons not to. Namely you just spent a lot of time to produce a clear chatoyant surface, why cloud it with expensive technomud, but also there is no protection or purpose provided by the graphene and it's not something you want to be directly exposing yourself to each time you use the desk. Major health and safety problems with nanocarbons.
orchid kayak
1. You're going to need to start coarser and really work your way methodically u...
What do I use instead?
candid rune
Nothing. You'll have covered it in a thick layer of an impervious polymer and then polished it glass smooth. There is no need to apply anything.
orchid kayak
candid rune
Looks like you did a good job laying your finish down. After it has cured you should take a good look at it and decide if you want to do any sanding/polishing at all or if it is already where you want it.
You can spend a lot of hours chasing the last 0.1% of flat and gloss
orchid kayak
You can spend a lot of hours chasing the last 0.1% of flat and gloss
Can you see the blemishes
orchid kayak
orchid kayak
It says it takes 4 to 6 days to cure, so I gave it 9
Sanded to 1200, so now 1500, and 3000?
rose carbon
great job, that looks like a nice sheen!
orchid kayak
great job, that looks like a nice sheen!
I'm so scared sanding will ruin it, until I buff and polish it lol this is my very first time
rose carbon
If you're happy with it you can stop.
orchid kayak
Oh no, I only sanded to increase the reflections and gloss, I just don't wanna ruin the gloss, the server telling me to follow through and trust the process is like my safety net 😅
rose carbon
glad its turning out the way you hoped and the advice has been helpful!
orchid kayak
Am I going through the poly? :/
I honestly wish I had someone local I could've paid to have done this, I'm not trying to cry but damn :l failure doesn't taste sweet, do I keep sanding, do I need to grab 80 grit and tear it down, or should I keep doing 320, haze it all up, and keep going I don't feel wood grain but feel so worried :///