[coljnr9]

Hey everyone, first time poster and complete woodworking noobie!

My grandpa built me an alder desk for Christmas this year, and it is finished with 3-5 coats of polyurethane. However, there seem to be specks of dust lodged in most of the surfaces. Other forums online recommended that I wetsand down to 2000 grit in order to smooth everything down.

I did a test run inside one of the draws, and found that that grit left a glass-smooth, but very matte surface. I went down to the local paint shop and they recommended that I apply a few coats of teak oil over the sanded area. I tried that this morning (wipe on, let sit ~15 mins, wipe off), but it really didn't seem to bring back much of the gloss I was expecting. I rooted around online a bit more and no one seems to be suggesting teak oil over poly finishes. I was wondering if anyone could weigh in on a good plan of attack that I can use to get rid of the roughness and end up with a semi-gloss to gloss finish.

I believe the original poly is a semi-gloss, and the teak oil I have is Daly's SeaFin. The desk is alder stained a dark walnut color.

Thanks for any help!
Cole

 

[cabinetman]

We have an introduction section where you can say a few words about yourself. If you fill out your profile in your "User Control Panel", you can list any hobbies, experience or other facts. You can also list your general geographical location which would be a help in answering some questions.

You can add it but it won't benefit anything. It's not a pure Tung oil, but rather an oil/varnish/mineral spirits mix. It would have no surface to penetrate. Your best bet would be to get a sufficient build on the polyurethane, allow to cure, and wet sand like you did, and then use a rubbing compound to polish out the finish.

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[coljnr9]

Thank you so much. Is there a compound you would recommend? And what would be a good grit to sand to before starting on the compounding?

 

[cabinetman]

Thank you so much. Is there a compound you would recommend? And what would be a good grit to sand to before starting on the compounding?

You could stop wet sanding at 1500x. You can use an automotive rubbing compound...sometimes red. You can polish with a polishing compound...sometimes white and this. Turtle wax has some off the shelf products.

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[Steve Neul]

The teak oil is only good on porous surfaces. Since you have put polyurethane on it, it essentially has a plastic coating over the wood so it wouldn't work.

When you start rubbing out a finish you might experience different sheens in the outcome. It might be easier for you to sand the roughness out of the finish with 220 grit sandpaper and apply another coat of finish. When you finish it's a good idea to sand the finish between coats. If you have a reasonably clean place to work the finish should get smoother and better with each coat.