I'm working on a walnut bench for a friend. I've had success using oil/varnish blends (usually Cabot Tung Oil finish 8099) in the past on many pieces, but on this bench I've run into problems achieving the final satin look I wanted. Usually I actually build it up a bit then take it back to where I want it. I'm attributing my problems to the extreme heat/humidity and probably a little over anxiousness in my wait time for rubbing out. Basically I rubbed out my finish after about 3 weeks and the results were not satisfactory. I believe the finish was not actually fully cured. My friend would really like this bench sooner rather than later. I took the bench inside, out of my sunroom (aka currently like a sauna) sanded back the finish a bit with 400 grit and wiped on a new coat of Cabot yesterday. Right now it looks pretty glossy. I do have some satin Bartley's gel varnish on hand. Aside from waiting for this to fully cure and rubbing it out to a satin, could I simply give it a gentle scuff with #0000 steel wool and apply a coat of the gel varnish? I have other things on-hand too, like micro mesh pads, or the ol' brown paper bag. Would I have to wait for a full cure before applying the gel varnish too? I'd like to get this out the door, as what was a really quick turnaround has suddenly kicked my *ss! haha.. I'm also aware that over the next month or so the gloss will naturally go down.
Thanks in advance.
-ps- hopefully this thread does not turn into an explanation of tung oil, tung oil varnish, supposed tung oil varnishes that don't contain any tung oil, etc...