Help with mahogany Door - pores showing in varnish

[Jeff Fischer]

I have a new mahogany entry door that I have stained fairly dark, and applied several coats of minwax satin spar varnish.
The problem I'm having is the pores in the wood are showing like pinholes in the finish.
I have sanded and shot additional coats, and it might be a little bit better, but I'm not satisfied that this is the best way to go at this point.
I have reasearched a little now, and see that I should have used a pore filler and that there are better choices for the finish, but I had a sub doing it for me and that is what he used. The door is protected from sun and weather by a 7' wide porch, so that will help durability issues.
Now that I have several coats of the varnish on there can I use a pore filler now? Or is there some other way to fill them and level out the finish?
I really don't want to strip it and start over, so anybody have any suggestions?
Thanks in advance for your comments.
Next time I'll ask questions first and shoot later, lol.

Jeff Fischer

[Henry Ambrose]

Shoot a couple three more coats and carefully sand it back each time with a hard sanding block. (don't break through to your stained work)
Let dry for a couple of weeks, then give it another coat or two.
You will have filled the pores with finish.

On the other hand, it'll last just fine now so unless the dimply look bothers you or your customer (you mentioned "sub") just stop now.
If all concerned agree that its supposed to look all smooth and slick like a factory sprayed part, then go back to the first paragraph.

Also its likely that even in the protected location it'll need attention every few years to look super. So having used a plain varnish (not poly) will help you in re-coating it 3-4 years from now.

[Bill White]

Mahogany and walnut (and others) will sure show pores unless a filler is used FIRST. I'd follow Henry's advice rather than stripping. I'd also use something other than MW products.
The porch will really be a help in protecting the door.
Bill

[Jeff Fischer]

Thanks guys, I will keep sanding and shooting. Is there anything I can do to get the finish to go down into the pores? Even when I lay on a heavy coat that looks perfectly smooth when it's wet, when it dries, the pinholes over the pores are back, like it is "avoiding" the holes, if you know what I mean. Can I wet sand the MW spar varnish to work up a slurry to added some fill to the holes?

Thank again,
Jeff

[George Octon]

That's basically how a finished is leveled, at least without fillers. Take in the case of yacht varnishing. You need to sand your finish, maybe with a 220 or so fairly hard to level it , maybe more than once, maybe more than twice. It's a process. In boat varnishing, it usually takes 8 coats or so to get it level. But you have to consider that when you're sanding, you're losing coating and losing protection and longevity. So it's a tossup, perfect level finish or give up some of that and have more protection.

And get yourself some good marine spar varnish. And be aware what the door's exposure is to the sun and to the weather. Hopefully you get some shade. A west exposure or a southern could be wicked to maintain. You don't want to go back and have to redo this when it goes to pot. Overdo it now, at this stage to get lasting protection.

[Henry Ambrose]

Thanks guys, snipped.........
Can I wet sand the MW spar varnish to work up a slurry to added some fill to the holes?

Thank again,
Jeff

Yes, good technique!

No matter how much finish you apply it will harden and shrink a bit and the pores will start showing again - until you finally get done.
Give it plenty of time between coats.

[Alan Lightstone]

Can I wet sand the MW spar varnish to work up a slurry to added some fill to the holes?

Not sure if it is any different with spar varnish, but I just tried that approach on the table top I'm working on, and it really muddied up the finish. Like putting a dull film over it.

To fix it, I wet sanded the dried/sanded varnish with 400 then 600 grit with mineral spirits wiping off after each sanding coat, and now it looks much better. I'm sure that wet sanding the varnish did help fill the pores a little more, but I felt it came with a big visual price.

[George Octon]

I think you get a better fill by brushing.

The slurry technique may give a little benefit, but it is more suited to a rub on penetrating oil finish that you wet sand the oil into the bare wood, not already coated wood. Also there's a time factor with all that wet sanding and wiping and wiping. Sand a and build up your coats and your coating thickness and it will fill in and smooth out. And don't forget how it's going to hold up considering the factors that control that.