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It depends on what you are trying to smooth out. If you are just smoothing out some dust nibs then wet sand with water and wet/dry paper starting with 600 grit and work up in grit until you are satisfied. If you are trying to correct some defects in the finish, you will need to start with much coarser paper until you remove the defects and then re-apply a coat or two.
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(08-20-2020, 02:47 PM)cme4dk Wrote: I just sprayed two coats of a waterborne poly semi gloss and the final coat was a semi gloss conversion poly.
My question is how to smooth out the finish while still keeping the sheen?
Do I use 600, 1000, 1200 grit sandpaper or is it better to use paste wax applied with 0000 steel wool and then buff with a rag?
Jay
I don't think you have enough finish coats on it to consider a real rubbing out process, certainly not with sandpaper or you risk cutting through. If you just need to denib the surface then try a brown paper bag or white scotch brite pad after it's cured for a week. If you want to really rub it out then you need to apply more coats of your semi gloss first. The easiest way I've found to rub out something to a semi gloss is to start with 600 or 1000 grit wet/dry paper, work up to 2000, and then switch to automotive polishing compound.
John
