Applying Oil/Varnish mix with Steel Wool?

[Walt Pater]

I'm in the last stages of finishing a maple trestle-legged table. I'm finding that the BLO/Varn/Turps mix I'm using has a tad more gloss than I'd like. I'm considering doing one last coat applied with #0000 steel wool and lotsa rubbing.....anyone tried this? Or am I better off applying a pastewax buffcoat later? I'm supposed to deliver this tomorrow.....heh. I tried it on a sample piece....looked pretty good. Just thought I'd ask around before I started buffing.

I'll try to attach a picture. Thanks in advance. Walt

[Scott Holmes]

You will leave shards of steelwool IN the finish... bad idea.

You can buff it with steelwool after it had dried; a week or more is best, but you can fast forward if you want, it's not possible to get a gloss finish with oil/varnish blend anyway.

Why use turpinetine? is smells terrible, is slow to dry, and cost more than mineral spirits.