Final Coat on Table Top

[Mike Gottlieb]

I am about to put the final coat of Arm-R-Seal on a bubinga table top and need some help. The top was filled with oil based filler prior to finishing. I applied a coat of Seal-A-Cell then started with Arm-R-Seal gloss. I applied 5 coats, sanding in between with 400grit between the first 2 coats, then with 600grit and mineral spirits between the next 2 coats.

For the final coat, should I sand, and if so, with 400grit or the 600grit and mineral spirits?

Should I wipe on and immediately wipe off the final coat or, wipe on or foam brush a final coat and leave it to dry withou wiping it off?

Finally, I feel the satin is too satin. Should I add some gloss to the satin to reduce the satin effect?

I would appreciate any help you experienced finishers can provide.

Many thanks, Mike

[Brad Wood]

I'm interested in seeing the replies for this one. One thought I have regarding the sheen, and will toss it out there for the experts to debunk or support...

(ok, maybe two thoughts)

It is my understanding the final product takes on whatever sheen of the last coat - so you could change your product to a higher sheen for the final coat (this was my second thought)

my first thought was that I think you can "rub it out" to increase the sheen.. using pumice or something along those line... experts???

[Howard Acheson]

>> It is my understanding the final product takes on whatever sheen of the last coat - so you could change your product to a higher sheen for the final coat (this was my second thought)

Good thinking. You are correct on both thoughts. The sheen is determined by the sheen of the final coat. The flatteners are almost perfectly clear and can not be seen "in" the finish film. They can only be seen at the surface where they sort of stick up above the surface and therefor bend the light giving the appearance of a "frost". In other words, the bending of the light which gives the appearance of a reduced sheen all occurs at the surface of the film that contained the flatteners. When you apply a following clear coat, it covers the exposed surfaces of the flatteners making them as invisiable as they are deeper in the finish. As the gloss has no flatteners and the prior coat's surface is not totally covered, you will have a gloss finsih.

As final thought, think of a gloss finish that you sand with 320 paper before applying the next coat. When you finish sanding you have randomly scratched and "unsmoothed" the surface and you have a sort of satin sheen. Now when you apply a new coat of finish, magically the new finish has smoothed the surface and you no longer can see any scratches.

[Mike Gottlieb]

Many thanks Howard. I will test a combo of satin and gloss on some scrap.