Polishing lacquer

[Rich Enders]

Looking to obtain a very high luster on lacquer over walnut without losing the grain by filling. In rubbing out the lacquer good results were obtained using the Menzerna coarse compound. This compound is brown and completely disappears leaving a nice uniform matte finish. Taking the luster up is where the problem occurs. Both Menzerna polishes are cream/white, and leave white streaks in the grain. The same is true of the 3M Scratch Remover polish although it gives the highest luster of all three I have tried. Except for the white streaks, the look is nice.

Does anyone know of a dark polishing compound?

[John TenEyck]

Maybe this: http://www.amazon.com/3M-06068-Perfect-It-Ultrafine-Machine/dp/B0015PMQDI/ref=sr_1_3?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1376096256&sr=1-3&keywords=3m+perfect-it#productDetails Or how about mineral spirits or some other solvent to remove the polishing compound that's stuck in the pores without damaging the finish? Just a thought.

John

[Rich Enders]

John,

Thanks for the reference to 3M Perfect It, and also the idea about mineral spirits. I will give it a try.

[Rich Enders]

John,

I tried removing the white streaks in the grain with mineral spirits, and it made them more pronounced. I will try a few more times to see if continued action helps.

[Mike Henderson]

I didn't post earlier because I thought maybe someone would come up with a good solution. When I've had that problem, I had to sand the wood down to remove the polishing compound in the cracks. I learned not to use polishing compound unless it was a smooth (glass flat) surface.

Mike

[John TenEyck]

Sorry to hear that Rich. I hope continued treatment is helpful. If it isn't, you may want to consider just moving on to the dark polishing compound and hoping it masks the white residue in the pores. Another option would be to apply a dark wax, but I would only do that after all other finishing steps are done. Good luck.

John

[Rich Enders]

John,

-No luck yet on "cleaning" the pores with mineral spirits. Since the polishes are water based I am going to try that also.

-I tried dark wax. That works, but it brings the gloss down a step.

-I watched a 3M video tutorial on their Perfect It system. Although it is recommended for dark automotive colors, the polishing compounds are white liquids and I may wind up with the exact same problem.

Since the Menzerna coarse compound is brown it seemed like they or someone would have a fine compound that is brown or at least dark.

I am probably left with Mike Henderson's solution above.

[Rich Enders]

I tried a toothbrush dipped in water and scrubbed with the grain. About 3/4 of the white streaks caused by the dried polish in the grain/cracks are gone. Hopefully a few more treatments will continue the improvement. The gloss does not seem to be lower after drying and then buffiing the area.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I tried a toothbrush dipped in water and scrubbed with the grain. About 3/4 of the white streaks caused by the dried polish in the grain/cracks are gone. Hopefully a few more treatments will continue the improvement. The gloss does not seem to be lower after drying and then buffiing the area.
I've had a lot of good luck using one of those pad type paint applicators for scrubbing chores such as that.
Lowes and Home Depot both sell replacement pads for those wheel type paint edgers for only a couple of bucks.
Back the pad u p with a small block of wood & you can cover a lot more territory with it than you can with a toothbrush.

[Robert LaPlaca]

I didn't post earlier because I thought maybe someone would come up with a good solution. When I've had that problem, I had to sand the wood down to remove the polishing compound in the cracks. I learned not to use polishing compound unless it was a smooth (glass flat) surface.

Mike
I agree totally with what Mike said..But since you are well down the road, you may want to try Meguairs Number 3 to bring up the gloss, number 3 is kind of dark grey in color (kind of like Rottenstone) it might not pack the pores with the white like the Menzerna product did (Menzerna is wonderful stuff by the way).. Good luck

[Rich Enders]

Robert,

Thanks for the suggestion of the Meguiars Number 3. Dark grey should work.

For the moment washing out the white with a wet toothbrush, though time consuming, is working.

[Rich Enders]

I don't know if you can magnify photo's on the Creek, but maybe you can see the white in the grain of the upper left rail. It isn't terrible, but should be better. I was afraid filling the grain for a "glass flat" look would have made this piece a little too plastic like. Maintaining the texture of the grain appealed to me. Now all I need is a dark polish.
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