Paste wax over Gel Varnish?

[William Hamilton]

Hi all,
I'm close to being done with my redwood burl coffee table. I've wiped 3 coats of Bartley's clear satin gel varnish on it. It has a decent, subtle sheen to it. I would like it to have more shine, but I don't want the finish to look "plastic" and thick either. I'm considering a 4th layer of gel varnish, partially to add more shine and also since I'm wiping (thus, thin layers) and redwood is soft and needs protection. I'm thinking this 4th layer should help a bit. Then I was going to follow that with a paste wax, like Johnson's (?). I'm thinking the paste wax and buffing will really bring out a nice shine. Does all this sound right? I've only worked with walnut and tung oil previously, so this is my first experience with redwood and a wiping varnish. Thanks! -ps- pictured is the underside. The top has some redwood keys in it. I'll post more when it's done.

[Howard Acheson]

In general, paste wax will not produce more sheen than the underlying finish. And, once you apply wax, you are committed to a continuing re-application to maintain its appearance.

If you want more sheen, use a gloss finish or let the finish fully cure for 3-4 weeks and then rub it out.

[William Hamilton]

Rosewood keys, not redwood keys... but anyway..

[Len Meyer]

William
I've used wax over a gel varnish on cherry a couple of times. It works fine. My choices were General Gel Topcoat and Antiquax. Don't think you want to use any Johnsons paste wax product but first read the article "All About Wax" by Peter Gedrys in FWW magazine #191.

[Frank Drew]

Wax can be a bit of a dust magnet.

I'm with Howard here; build the varnish until you can polish it (rub it out.)

[William Hamilton]

Howie and Frank,
I've decided to build up the finish more with the varnish. Thanks for the advice. I've since rubbed on two more coats of wiping varnish. It's definitely got more lustre and depth to it. Since the gel varnish I used is satin it's probably not going to get much more gloss to it. I think in avoiding the "wet, plastic" look I shot myself in the foot a bit and limited what I could get with the finish. I'm definitely learning a lot here. I assumed (probably incorrectly) that since my Bartley's varnish dried in 6 hours, that there was no curing involved after that. So, basically I should wait a few weeks before attempting to rub out the finish?

[Frank Drew]

So, basically I should wait a few weeks before attempting to rub out the finish? Yes, or at least a week or two. I've used gel varnishes but I'm not sure how they might differ from ordinary varnishes in terms of curing time; in general, though, a dry-to-the-touch finish isn't the same thing as a fully cured (fully hard) finish, and polishing works best if the finish is as hard as it's going to get.

[William Hamilton]

http://www.woodworkersjournal.com/Main/Articles/Rubbing_Out_The_Final_Step_to_a_Great_Finish_5261. aspx

I found this link and hopefully it will be helpful too. I suppose what I am aiming to achieve is rubbing a satin out to a semi-gloss. I think that is exactly what I want to do with this redwood burl table. I've seen far too many redwood burl tables that look like they're covered in soaking wet plastic, which to me is not an attractive finish. I cringe when I see something with a thick layer of poly over it. To each their own I guess. On the other hand, too much of a matte finish wouldn't do justice to the crazy grain. Speaking of grain, one thing has me a bit worried: everything I've read says to go with the grain when rubbing out. The grain on this redwood burl is all over the place and will be virtually impossible to follow.