Final Sanding?

[Jason Christenson]

I am refinishing an old student desk for my son. I have done the first coat of poly finish and know that I will need to sand and recoat. My question is this: after the final coat, do I need to do anything besides just wait for it to cure and put it together?

Thanks in advance.

Jason

[Jim Becker]

Some people do nothing; others will rub the varnish out in various ways and apply a coat of paste wax. The light sanding between coats of polyurethane varnish serve both to remove pesky "nibs" as well as provide a surface that the next coat can grip onto...poly hates to stick even to itself. Be careful in your sanding between coats, however... you do NOT want to break through the layers of finish as it can be noticable. Do just enough to smooth things and provide tooth for the next coat. I wet-sand with 320 wet and dry using mineral spirits as a lubricant when doing this with varnish.

[Steve Schoene]

I have always found it necessary to do some rubbing out of the final coat, since there are always dust nibs. Wait as long as possible before starting your rub out. A month is about ideal.

Several ways to proceed. The dust nibs can be removed either with a very light use of a card scraper. Or you can use 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper. Then the rub out can be completed by rubbing with fine steel wool if you want a soft satin finish. The steel wool can be lubricted with wax for that matter. This is fairly easy, and gives a good look.

If you want a glossier finish you should progress to a finer paper such as 1000 grit, give or take, and then bring up the sheen with rotten stone lubricated with parafin oil, or use fine rubbing compound. This may be getting into overkill for a student desk.

[Jason Christenson]

This may be getting into overkill for a student desk.

Yeah, I don't want my 4 year old to slide right out of it!