after reading about a dozen posts on here about waterlox, I've learned a lot, but I have some remaining questions.
I am in the middle of a project to finish birch butcher-block counter tops for a DIY kitchen update. I have already applied a number of coats of waterlox original with generally good results, but my technique is evolving and I've run into a few issues. I trust that some of the experienced finishers on this forum will have advice.
Here is what I have done to date:
- applied about six coats of WL to two separate pieces of the counter using a foam brush.
- after four coats with no sanding between, I was dissatisfied with how rough the surface was and began experimenting with sanding between coats. I used 320 open-grit paper and hand sanded with the grain, vacuuming up dust and using a cloth with MS to thoroughly clean.
- at the same time, I tried a technique I read about elsewhere (hadn't discovered this forum yet) that somebody called "dry brushing"--applying a very liberal amount of WL with a foam brush, waiting 20 minutes, and then gently smoothing the waterlox with a new dry brush.
- the results of this sanding/dry-brush technique were pretty good: I have a very smooth, glossy surface that looks like a thick layer of clear resin over the wood. however, there are some places where you can see brush strokes in the final coat (perhaps because I literally pooled the waterlox on and pushed it around with the dry brush per this other guy's recommendations). You can also see scratches from my sanding on the previous coat if you look at the right angle. there are also drips on the sides of the counter from the excess that ran down the sides. the dry-brush technique does not seem well-suited for edges given the volume of liquid applied.
overall, the counter surface looks pretty good, but not quite right. also, I was not expecting such a thick, glossy-looking finish. The several accounts that I read beforehand made me think the WL would be a more natural-looking alternative to poly finish. It has now been about two weeks since I applied the last dry-brush coat, and I know that the gloss gradually diminishes as the WL cures over a month, but it honestly looks more plastic-y then many wood counters that I have seen coated in poly.
After getting to this stage, I discovered the threads on this forum in which experienced waterloxers recommend the wipe-on, "cleaning a fast-food table" method. I was curious to see if this method might produce a thinner, more natural (i.e., less cased-in-resin) look, so I took one of the counters and sanded down the surface. I didn't go all the way, however, and I'll admit that I'm a rookie and probably made some mistakes at this stage. I started with 120 grit on the orbital sander, went up to 220, and then went to 320 (all with the orbital sander) to get a very smooth surface. After cleaning off dust, I applied three coats using the wipe-on technique (blue shop towel). That has dried for 24 hours.
So here is where I'm seeking guidance. The results were not stellar:
- the surface clearly shows wipe marks in some places--it is much less even than the "dry-brush" approach I used first. Do these wipe marks go away after applying more wipe-on coats, or could it be my technique? i tried not to leave any pooled resin when I wiped on.
- I can clearly see squiggle marks from my sanding of the previous coat. Have I used poor sanding technique--using too large a grain of paper or using an orbital sander between coats rather than sanding by hand? Did I need to continue sanding down to a finer grit? I thought to try the orbital because my previous results with hand sanding and 320 grit weren't great, either.
I know I'm throwing a lot of questions out there, so I'll take what advice I can get. I still have one counter that looks *pretty good* that I haven't fussed with, but ideally I'd like to get both of these looking better using the wipe-one technique, which sounded like it was less fussy than heaping on the finish and dry-brushing (which nobody on here appears to recommend). Any hope of resurrecting the counter with the squiggle marks in the previous layer without sanding all the way back to the wood?
thanks in advance for your advice.