One of your problems may stem back to the BLO. Polymerization (hardening) of BLO is a very slow process. It takes weeks, months, even longer and may be contributing factors to the problems with layering. However, having said that, it just may be that you did not allow enough time in between coats for drying and insufficient block sanding in between coats. From the pictures I really can not see the problem well. I would let it sit and cure/dry before doing anything.
Finishing My Finish... Rubbing Out & Layering Question
I've been building some walnut + cherry island countertops, and the layers are:
There are 5 or 6 places where I applied the finish a bit too thick during the first couple of coats. I tried to sand between coats, but was pretty timid and they are still visible and raised up a bit. I'm reading the "Finishing the Finish" chapter in Flexner's book, and it sounds like I should level the finish first with sandpaper (in a few weeks once it has cured), and then rub it out. But then he shows a picture of "layering" that happens when sanding through a coat of a finish that doesn't fuse between coats (like mine).
Question
Should I try to fix the marks now (which is about 15 hours since the last coat), then apply another layer of Poly? Or wait until it cures and do the sandpaper-flattening before rubbing out?
I think my lack of experience is probably evident here…I'm working on a project that's dramatically increasing my skillset, yet pushing it to its limits. Any advice/thoughts would be appreciated.
Here's what I'm talking about:
![Brown Rectangle Wood Amber Flooring]()
However, most looks good:
![Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor Cloud]()
- BLO
- DW Shellac
- Arm-R-Seal Gloss (5 layers, some thinned)
- 1 coat of Polyurethane/MS 50/50 mix (I ran out of Arm-R-Seal due to a complication, see other thread)
There are 5 or 6 places where I applied the finish a bit too thick during the first couple of coats. I tried to sand between coats, but was pretty timid and they are still visible and raised up a bit. I'm reading the "Finishing the Finish" chapter in Flexner's book, and it sounds like I should level the finish first with sandpaper (in a few weeks once it has cured), and then rub it out. But then he shows a picture of "layering" that happens when sanding through a coat of a finish that doesn't fuse between coats (like mine).
Question
Should I try to fix the marks now (which is about 15 hours since the last coat), then apply another layer of Poly? Or wait until it cures and do the sandpaper-flattening before rubbing out?
I think my lack of experience is probably evident here…I'm working on a project that's dramatically increasing my skillset, yet pushing it to its limits. Any advice/thoughts would be appreciated.
Here's what I'm talking about:
However, most looks good:
Attachments
1 - 12 of 12 Posts
I forgot to mention, my application of the BLO was from Jeff Jewitt's quick oil finish schedule published in FWW, which is very minimal BLO applied just to the surface (less than 1Tbsp per square foot, and dabbed on rather than dumped), followed immediatelyi with a coat of shellac. It actually worked really well, and each coat of Arm-R-Seal dried very nicely as other non-BLO Arm-R-Seal projects have in the past. Perhaps this sheds more light on the process I used to help make things more relevant.
I think I applied the first few coats of Arm-R-Seal too thick, so probably 1, 2, and 3. I had trouble getting the hang of it on as large of a surface of this (the big one is about 6' x 4'). By the time I came back around to my second pass, the first coat had already started setting up, so most of the issues I have are noticeable overlap marks.
You nailed the conundrum.
Ok I think I'm going to wait it out and just chalk this up as a learning experience. 99.95% of the surface area turned out better than expected, and I definitely don't want to ruin that.
About an hour ago, I did try something weird that seemed to help. But, it was too easy so maybe it's just a mind trick. I rubbed 2 fingers across it really quick for about 30 seconds until my fingers heated up and started to burn. I feel like it somehow reduced the depth of the thicker layer. There's still a line, but it looks more like a small line than one side being taller than the other. I did this in places near the edges and I'm fairly certain this helped. Maybe it just changed the sheen, or maybe it just changed the shape of my fingers or killed some nerves in my brain, but I feel that it helped, and that's all that matters right?
I wonder if there's some point in the curing process where some heat might do good for leveling?Regardless, I'm considering it done, will install it tomorrow, and will revisit it in a month to see what some light buffing does.
Thanks for the replies.
1 - 12 of 12 Posts
