[Marine04]

Read an article on how to get a professional looking finish and want to run the method by some of you.

Sand the piece with 80g then 120 then 220.
Apply stain wait 24hrs
Apply my poly
Sand with 220
Last coat finish with a wet sand. Lemon oil and 400 or 600 gr

Which grit would you recommend for the finish 400 or 600?

Also if I do 3 coats should I sand with 220 both times or once with the 220 then 320 then my finishing sand?

Also the ends of my wood always come out looking dusty or cloudy. Do you think if I rout the ends with a trim bit or something if it will lock it up enough to keep the dust out?
Even after one sanding it looks like that. I will sand the end and then it looks cloudy and dusty and I can't get it off. I've tried compressed air an a damp cloth and it doesn't work. The damp cloth makes it look ok then when it dries up it looks dusty and cloudy again

 

[cabinetman]

Read an article on how to get a professional looking finish and want to run the method by some of you.

Sand the piece with 80g then 120 then 220.
Apply stain wait 24hrs
Apply my poly
Sand with 220
Last coat finish with a wet sand. Lemon oil and 400 or 600 gr

Which grit would you recommend for the finish 400 or 600?

Also if I do 3 coats should I sand with 220 both times or once with the 220 then 320 then my finishing sand?

Where did you read that?

.

 

[Marine04]

Where did you read that?






.

Right here. Middle of the way down
http://www.diynetwork.com/decorating/wood-finishes-101/index.html

It turned out awesome!!!!
I only got to do the last sand down on this though. It was already stained and coated twice. Doing the wet sand with lemon oil and 600grit turned out soooo nice. It has a store room furniture feel even on the end grain and looks great. The stain job needs work and the wood is iffy cause it's scrap but that final finish sanding and the oil made it turn out 100 times better than the other

 

[Marine04]

Definitely make a little something and try this out. I used old English lemon oil I found at home depot and 600 grit wet sand paper and it turned out great. The picture doesn't do it justice. Oh and this is a semi gloss poly finish

 

[Rick Mosher]

Do yourself a favor and make a complete sample on scrap before you start on your project. If anything don't work we can make suggestions.

 

[Steve Neul]

The only thing I don't like is using lemon oil on a freshly done finish. I think water would be a better lubricant.

 

[Marine04]

The only thing I don't like is using lemon oil on a freshly done finish. I think water would be a better lubricant.

Why don't you like lemon oil?

 

[Steve Neul]

Why don't you like lemon oil?

It's not that I don't like lemon oil, it takes a month or more for any finish to fully harden and I don't like the idea of putting a foreign substance on the finish until it gets there. It's like if you bought a car that was fresh from the factory they would tell you not to wax it for a couple of months because the finish was fresh. The substances contained in the wax would penetrate the paint more when it is fresh and shorten the life of the finish.

 

[Bill White 2]

Just my opinion.....
Lemon oil is a rip off. Fragrance in a light mineral oil base.
Just plain mineral oil if you must. Might not smell as pretty, but it sure is a lot less expensive.
Bill

 

[Marine04]

Just my opinion.....
Lemon oil is a rip off. Fragrance in a light mineral oil base.
Just plain mineral oil if you must. Might not smell as pretty, but it sure is a lot less expensive.
Bill

I looked for mineral oil but didn't find anything at HD so just picked up the lemon oil. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out but it would be nice to pay less than 6 bucks and not have the lemon scent

 

[Gilgaron]

You can find mineral oil with the laxatives at the grocery store.

 

[Marine04]

You can find mineral oil with the laxatives at the grocery store.

I have never and would have never guessed to look there lol. I kept looking all over home depot for it and couldn't find anything

 

[HowardAcheson]

Lemon oil is a rip off. Fragrance in a light mineral oil base.
Just plain mineral oil if you must. Might not smell as pretty, but it sure is a lot less expensive.
Bill

Yup, most "lemon oils" and Old English in particular are, only mineral oil, a small amount of mineral spirits and some artificial lemon odorant.

As the mineral oil never really dries, airborne dust will adhere to it causing a re-application of the "lemon oil" to again clean it up.