question on evening the sheen on a finish

I don’t know if I’d wipe it a second time like you would stain.

-- Shooting down the walls of heartache. Bang bang. I am. The warrior.

My usual process for rubbing out a finish is with a soft sanding sponge and a spray bottle of water.

However in this case I would use #0000 steel wool and furniture wax. I use Howard’s Walnut wax, but any furniture grade wax in a matching color will work. It does a great job of evening the sheen, and will take a gloss finish down to a satin look. Work with a light hand, and with the grain.

Good luck with it.

-- Willie, Washington "If You Choose Not To Decide, You Still Have Made a Choice" - Rush

I use scotchbrite (gray and/or white pads) and a drill with sanding pad, and sealant for clear coats, but it’s the same thing Pinto describes. If you didn’t stain the wood, you can lightly sand and recoat as many times as you want without concern for going through the stain. I usually do a lite single pass with 600 grint, then 800 or a 1000, to remove nibs, depending on the sheen I want, then the scotchbrite. Here's some info on oils and poly you might find interesting.

What I do, which seems to work for me for satin finishes (my favourite) is as follows…
First coat – just wipe on – leave to dry.
I then rub that down with oil on wet and dry sandpaper – a smallish piece, with my fingers – work on a small section – when you start, it will feel “rough” – keep it wet with oil – but when the coat is smooth it all gets quite slippery – move to next small section – this uses quite a lot of oil – when you think you’re finished, just rub your fingers over the surface – it should be smooth all over – if you feel any rough spots – a bit more sanding. Wipe most of that off, then apply the next coat of actual finish to the somewhat wet surface, mixing it with whatever oil remains. Before it gets tacky, wipe it off. I usually use 1000 grit for this.
Repeat a few times. The last time rub quite hard with paper towels until it’s basically dry – this may get quite “squeaky”. A final coat or two of wax finishes the process.

-- "Do not speak – unless it improves on silence." --- "Following the rules and protecting the regulations is binding oneself without rope."

Okay, so it sounds like everyone is suggesting I go ahead and rub out the finish now and not apply any more coats of wiping oil varnish.

Okay, so it sounds like everyone is suggesting I go ahead and rub out the finish now and not apply any more coats of wiping oil varnish.
- bbsherman

I’m not saying that – if you don’t have enough on, you’ll never be able to rub it down to get a decent finish – I’ve tried that a number of times, due to impatience – it never works – you end up having to add more coats.

-- "Do not speak – unless it improves on silence." --- "Following the rules and protecting the regulations is binding oneself without rope."

I’ve used that low odor thinner before, and I don’t like it. If its that white milky crap it will swell up a china bristle brush and didn’t seem to mix well with the varnish which should not happen, so I never used it to cut any oil based finish. Maybe I got a bad batch but I never use it . I tried using it to clean my hands (varnish) it felt all goey like I tried using water never bought it again. And it was low odor mineral spirits.

-- "Boy you could get more work done it you quit flapping your pie hole" Grandpa

On further thought and inspection, I think that the more porous walnut not taking the finish the same as the less porous maple and cherry. The maple and cherry look finished and ready to even out. The walnut looks like it was oiled, but has virtually no film on it. It looks mostly like wood that was treated with tung oil rather than a poly varnish. I probably should have used some sealer before I started. I guess it’s also just a challenge using dissimilar woods together.

What type of rag are you using. I use a polyester cloth wrapped in women’s panty hose. It doesn’t lint and when folded in a rectangle I use it like a squeegee. I thin my poly finish super thin and watch the reflection in the light to insure smooth even coverage.

On further thought and inspection, I think that the more porous walnut not taking the finish the same as the less porous maple and cherry. The maple and cherry look finished and ready to even out. The walnut looks like it was oiled, but has virtually no film on it. It looks mostly like wood that was treated with tung oil rather than a poly varnish. I probably should have used some sealer before I started. I guess it s also just a challenge using dissimilar woods together.

- bbsherman

I think you found the answer yourself, since I use Cherry, QS White Oak and Walnut pretty much exclusively, Walnut does take more coats for a film finish compared to the others.

Using clean cotton from cut up old t-shirts. Folded into a small square with no edges or seams exposed. I apply plenty of wiping varnish so I am pretty sure I am getting a good, even coat. The rag is soaked at the end. As I said, the first few coats I wiped on and then wiped off with a dry cloth 20 minutes later. The more recent coats I wipe on and then even out with the same wet cloth and let it dry.

What type of rag are you using. I use a polyester cloth wrapped in women s panty hose. It doesn t lint and when folded in a rectangle I use it like a squeegee. I thin my poly finish super thin and watch the reflection in the light to insure smooth even coverage.

- BurlyBob

Yes, seems like that may the case. I know now, but not sure if I should keep adding coats to the whole thing, just the walnut parts, or stop here and lightly sand and just even things out where they stand. From what I’ve read 5 coats should be enough even for a wiping formula. Again, I’m not looking to make the top look like it’s under glass, but i do want some protection since it will be a working desk.

On further thought and inspection, I think that the more porous walnut not taking the finish the same as the less porous maple and cherry. The maple and cherry look finished and ready to even out. The walnut looks like it was oiled, but has virtually no film on it. It looks mostly like wood that was treated with tung oil rather than a poly varnish. I probably should have used some sealer before I started. I guess it s also just a challenge using dissimilar woods together.

- bbsherman

I think you found the answer yourself, since I use Cherry, QS White Oak and Walnut pretty much exclusively, Walnut does take more coats for a film finish compared to the others.

- nightguy

If ypu want a high gloss on poly I use Novus plastic polish which has worked fine for me.

-- "It's fine in practise but it will never work in theory"

It would have been very helpful if you could have added a picture so we could see what you are referring to.

Just to close this up for others who may view this thread…

I mixed up a new batch of oil wiping varnish and used semi-gloss instead of satin poly for this batch. I also used citrus solvent instead of the low odor mineral spirits. I applied two coats and the top looks much better—glossier of course, but the film finish is now even across all of the wood species. I suspect the main reason for success was just adding a couple more coats, but it’s possible that the gloss poly and/or the citrus solvent played a role since those two variables were changed from the first batch of wiping oil varnish I mixed up.

Now I’m letting it cure while I finish the base and will gently rub it out with 0000 steel wool to try to bring down the gloss a bit. But I’m pretty happy with it at this point and look forward to getting the base completed and attaching the top.