Changing finishes from satin to high gloss

[Bob Weisner]

Hi:


If you stained a peice of wood with a satin finish and wanted more of a high gloss finish, can you just rub on a high gloss poly over top of the satin finish?

[Steve Schoene]

The answer is more or less yes depending on what satin finish you have to begin with. If the gloss finish you plan is compatible with the satin you shouldn't have a problem. You won't be able to get rid of the bit of haziness caused by the flattening agents, but I doubt that will be very noticable.

Gloss finishes do generally require rubbing out because they highlight any little imperfection so you may need a number of gloss coats to have a thick enough film to rub out well.

[Cecil Arnold]

Bob, I've buffed Minwax satin varnish with a car buffer and polish and gotten it to gloss, even though that wasn't my origional intent.

[Russ Massery]

same here.

[Richard Wolf]

In the future, you should always start with high gloss. It is much clearer than semi or satin. The last coat of ploy should be the gloss you desire. Or you can kill the high gloss with some 400 paper and a wax finish on top.

Richard

[Mike Vermeil]

Ditto on what Richard said. The flateners in satin or flat finishes actually obscure the wood beneath, often leaving a muddled appearance. Start with high gloss finishes whenever possible, then go to satin or flat for the final coat. Gloss finishes also generally build a harder film than flat & satin, something to consider on wood floors, etc.