I am in the process of finishing a cherry end table.
I used BLO, then shellac, then an alkyd varnish. I tried rubbing out the top but was not happy with the way it looked. While trying to rub out the top I used a polishing compound. I never could get the top looking the way I wanted it to look so I decided to recoat with varnish and try again at rubbing it out. I used mineral spirits to remove the polish. However, the mineral spirits must have not removed all of the silicone because now I am getting small craters in the varnish when I recoat.
My question is on what to do at this point. Jeff Jewitts book says to seal with shellac. Should I sand the finish as it now stands with 320 or 400 grit paper and then seal it with shellac? Would Zinsser Seal Coat do the job?