'Rubbing out' a finish? Recommendations? EDIT - And now results

[Henry W]

Have a maple table top - stained, sprayed with sanding sealer, gloss 'acrylic lacquer', and top coat of semi-gloss 'acrylic lacquer' (so described because it burns-in like lacquer). All products are Target Coatings (water borne coatings), except the stains which were Transtint.

One small area simply has more texture than the rest of the table, and because I do not have enough material to re-coat, I'm wondering about rubbing out the entire top. At this point I don't really care how glossy or satin the top is, I just want it to be consistent.

I have not rubbed out a finish - although I have sanded nibs out of undercoats with 400 grit paper. Searching reveals lots of posts mentioning rubbing out, but with the use of other finishes.

I have seen mention of at least three 'methods':
- 0000 steel wool and oil lubes,
- rottenstone or pumice as abrasives (water lube?)
- 1500 grit sandpaper (wet I presume)

Any recommendations for a novice?
_______________________________

EDIT - results added 11/10/21

Thanks for the ideas and answers to my query and the ensuing discussions (all helpful).

First a correction - this was not an acrylic lacquer but another Target Coatings product, their conversion varnish (EM8000 series I believe). Don't know why I mixed that up, but the sheen effect was real. No matter what the actual product material, I had produced an inconsistent sheen in a small area of the table top.

I decided to start my experiments to 'buff' this table top with simply water on a pad on my ROS at low speed. In a few minutes the sheen was even and the problem area was consistent with the rest of the table top. I cleaned and dried it and waited a few days to see if I still thought that was good enough. Later I noticed a few small spots that were inconsistent (too glossy), so I repeated the process. All in all it has taken me longer to write about this than to do this. The results were a Satin gloss level that was consistent!

I can't state exactly what the pad was because I have had it so long and there are no markings on it. I think it is a squishy backer pad for ROS sanding (approx 3/4" thick). The surface felt quite soft - but was likely a receptor surface for hook and loop sandpaper. Using that pad and lowest speed on my 6" ROS, with plenty of water, the process was only a few minutes - and most importantly, was effective.

END EDIT

 

[FredP]

I'll be watchin this one. I have rottenstone and all the rest but have been reluctant to destroy any finish yet.

 

[Phil S]

I would start with steel wool with a small amount of mineral oil as a lub. It should be fairly quick to get to an even finish. If you want some more gloss than shift to pumice

 

[Henry W]

I'll be watchin this one. I have rottenstone and all the rest but have been reluctant to destroy any finish yet.

Yup that's often been by feeling too!

 

[Henry W]

I would start with steel wool with a small amount of mineral oil as a lub. It should be fairly quick to get to an even finish. If you want some more gloss than shift to pumice

Thanks Phil. 0000 steel wool sound right? I think last year I threw out the steel wool the previous owner had left me b/c I had never used it in 25+ years. Perfect timing - eh?

 

[cyclopentadiene]

It may not be advised but I like car finishes. I often use a car buffing compound with a buffer pad. I then ise car wax on the piece as ot does not leave water spots!

 

[Phil S]

0000 steel wool will be fine. So would buffing compounds with a buffer pad. I use 3M compounds and a Festool sander with a felt pad or a foam pad - makes for quick work

 

[Oka]

Lacquer finishes for tops, I wet sand 1000 then 1500 then I use ceruim oxide powder with nivea or olive oil with a buffing random orbit polisher. Cerium oxide with super fine and is used to take out micro scratches in glass. If you use a machine be careful not to heat up the surface (obvious reasons).
If you want the finish mirror then, wet sand until there is nomore surface orange peel. I rarely do that. I usually take the orange peel down about 50-70%. That way it feels awesome and looks awesome but won't show every finger print on it like a fully flattened mirror surface will. ... but then, that's just me.

 

[Bas]

If you just want the finish to be even, try starting with something simple like a crumpled ball of Kraft paper. A synthetic nonwoven pad (available at Klingspor) also works well.
0000 steel wool has been mentioned before and is very effective, but get the premium stuff from a woodworking store, not the household kind. I've never used oil as a lubricant before, only water, so can't comment on that.

Make sure your finish is completely cured before rubbing it out, not just dry. Some water-based finishes can take a week.

 

[Willemjm]

Have a maple table top - stained, sprayed with sanding sealer, gloss 'acrylic lacquer', and top coat of semi-gloss 'acrylic lacquer' (so described because it burns-in like lacquer). All products are Target Coatings (water borne coatings), except the stains which were Transtint.

One small area simply has more texture than the rest of the table, and because I do not have enough material to re-coat, I'm wondering about rubbing out the entire top. At this point I don't really care how glossy or satin the top is, I just want it to be consistent.

I have not rubbed out a finish - although I have sanded nibs out of undercoats with 400 grit paper. Searching reveals lots of posts mentioning rubbing out, but with the use of other finishes.

I have seen mention of at least three 'methods':
- 0000 steel wool and oil lubes,
- rottenstone or pumice as abrasives (water lube?)
- 1500 grit sandpaper (wet I presume)

Any recommendations for a novice?

Thanks
Henry

I have not done that in a while, especially with Maple. A 240 grit RO sand and a spray gun should leave that extremely smooth.

If I have to, I use a buffer, with 3M wheels and automotive compounds, which smooths it in minutes.

The challenge is not rubbing through the top coat, into the stain area. It depends on how many mills on your top coat.

 

[Henry W]

I have not done that in a while, especially with Maple. A 240 grit RO sand and a spray gun should leave that extremely smooth.

If I have to, I use a buffer, with 3M wheels and automotive compounds, which smooths it in minutes.

The challenge is not rubbing through the top coat, into the stain area. It depends on how many mills on your top coat.

Yes Willem, I'd normally sand and recoat; in this case I have run out of the top coat material and was hoping I could address this without ordering more material.

 

[Henry W]

All:
Thanks for the ideas and answers to my query and the ensuing discussions (all helpful).

First a correction - this was not an acrylic lacquer but another Target Coatings product, their conversion varnish (EM8000 series I believe). Don't know why I mixed that up, but the sheen effect was real. No matter what the actual product material, I had produced an inconsistent sheen in a small area of the table top.

I decided to start my experiments to 'buff' this table top with simply water on a pad on my ROS at low speed. In a few minutes the sheen was even and the problem area was consistent with the rest of the table top. I cleaned and dried it and waited a few days to see if I still thought that was good enough. Later I noticed a few small spots that were inconsistent (too glossy), so I repeated the process. All in all it has taken me longer to write about this than to do this. The results were a Satin gloss level that was consistent!

I can't state exactly what the pad was because I have had it so long and there are no markings on it. I think it is a squishy backer pad for ROS sanding (approx 3/4" thick). The surface felt quite soft - but was likely a receptor surface for hook and loop sandpaper. Using that pad and lowest speed on my 6" ROS, with plenty of water, the process was only a few minutes - and most importantly, was effective.