Waterlox smoothing

[Jeffrey Cole]

GOOD MORNING, This is my first post on this site. I need some help with Waterlox. I have 6 coats of original on my table and it seems a little rough for a finish coat. I would like to smooth it out a bit. How long should I wait before I attempt to smooth it out? With what and how do I smooth it out?T
Thank you for your time and information!!
Jeffrey

[Tyler Schroeder]

For a dresser I recently finished, I applied 3 coats of Waterlox to build a base. On the 4th coat, I applied the finish and then wet sanded with 400 grit to level everything out. I then applied 2 more light coats to even out the finish.

[Jeffrey Cole]

Thanks for the help. you wet sanded after the 4th coat. Was the 4th coat dry when you sanded? What did you use for the lubricant when wet sanding. Also I saw on LJ that you used 0000 steel wool after the last coat. How ling did you let the last coat dry before usung the steel wool? Did the steel woo produce a smooth satin like finish?
Lots of questions I know, I am new to this finish and do not want to mess my table
Thanks for understanding
Jeffrey

[Scott Holmes]

Wet sanding is best saved until all coats have been applied. Dry sanding with 320 open coat paper is better than wet sanding between coats... the sanding slurry left behind can cause issues, better to avoid them by dry sanding.

I say never use steel wool between coats...

Reason #1 you will leave shards of steel wool behind; then you will top coat it. Now you have steel wool IN your finish when water vapor get to it, and it will, it will RUST - IN YOUR FINISH.

Reason #2 Many steel wool products have oil to keep them from rusting so now you have oil on your surface... bad idea.

[Jeffrey Cole]

thanks for the help, WHAT DO I USE FOR THE LUBERCANT IN WET SANDING WATERLOX?
I am starting to understand this now
Jeffrey

[Tyler Schroeder]

thanks for the help, WHAT DO I USE FOR THE LUBERCANT IN WET SANDING WATERLOX?
I am starting to understand this now
Jeffrey

I applied the 4th coat, and wet sanded immediately after. So, the Waterlox itself was the lubricant. After wet sanding it I buffed it out with a cloth.

To Scott's point, perhaps it could cause issues with the finish, but I didn't run into any myself.

As far as the steel wool - I just lightly buffed it after letting it sit for about a week. Just enough to take off the dust nibs. After about a month of curing the sheen has dropped to a a nice satin.

[Kent A Bathurst]

thanks for the help, WHAT DO I USE FOR THE LUBERCANT IN WET SANDING WATERLOX

I follow the approach Scott gave you. I steer very wide of steel wool - too many alternate products without the limitations and risks. After my last brush-on coat, I scuff sand with 320 grit, and then give it one [maybe two] wipe-on coats. THis minimizes dust nibs, etc.

The only time I "wet sand" waterlox is when I am going to rub out the finish. So - that may not be what you are trying to do. Never took Tyler's approach, so no help on that front.

You can read about rubbing out by searching the forums here, of from many other sources. But - overly brief:

You'll need to wait at least 4 weeks for the W'lox to reach full cure.

I use a series of abrasives. For lubricant, I use mineral oil, diluted with mineral spirits. I diluste it just to the point where it will come out of one of those cheap Ace hardware spray bottles.

You can get a dead-level, incredibly smooth, finish, and can "dial in" the gloss level you want. There are limitations, though - like, if you used open-pore wood [oak, etc] and did not fill the pores...........

[Scott Holmes]

Wet sanding is for final finishing of the finish AFTER it has CURED ~30 days later.

Sanding in a finish; is OK for the first few coats of an oil or oil/varnish blend (a.k.a. Danish Oil). It is NOT a good way to apply varnish!

WATERLOX is varnish; one of the best and easiest to apply IMHO.