Which table top coat for helping hide mistakes?

[Keith Kelly]

I made some sanding mistakes, stained with GF gel, and saw the mistakes. So I resanded, and restained, and saw new mistakes. So, I watched Marc's sanding videos and realized I broke every rule in the book. But that's besides the point. I learned my lesson.

Dining room table. I didn't build it, I'm just refinishing the top. The previous owners had kids that did a number to it.

Now it's time for the top coat. Primary goal: durable. Secondary goal: don't make my sanding mistakes more noticeable than necessary.

Yes I know I didn't list "quality wood clarity" as one of the goals, but this wood isn't spectacular. It's relatively soft and doesn't have any great character to it. And, this table will go through a beating the next 15 years.

I'm thinking a few layers of a satin polyurethane. Can you help guide me? On hand I also have GF gel top coat, GF arm r seal, Minwax polyurethane, and Minwax wipe on poly. But this table will be around for awhile so I'm fine with going to the store to get what I need.

What would you do?

[Joe Jensen]

Is it an option to sand the top again and retry staining it? That's what I've done

[Keith Kelly]

I knew somebody would say that. :) yes that's an option technically, but no I won't do it. The scratches aren't terrible and it's not a table I have much pride in. It's mainly time to get it done.

Would satin or gloss show the marks more do you think?

[John Coloccia]

What kind of marks are we taking about? A couple of scratches/dents or is the whole thing covered with swirls?

If it's just a couple of dents and gouges, or minor scratches, you may be able to do a drop fill.

1) Seal the entire piece...in this case, just lay down a coat of poly
2) put a drop of medium super glue in the imperfection. Allow it to cure. You may put a little accelerator off to the side, but not right on it or it will foam up
3) sand it back and make it nice and flat.
4) apply the rest of the finish

Try this on scrap. I think you'll find that you'll be able to make all but the absolute worst problems completely disappear, or at least significantly less visible.

[Keith Kelly]

OK cool. The scratches are very shallow and not terrible now. The first time around I had the crazy swirl marks, so that's why I redid it once.

Good clever technique about the super glue. I will definitely give that a try on some scrap.

[Kevin Jenness]

A flat sheen finish will minimize the effect of the swirls. Oil based polyurethane is probably the most durable single component locally available finish. If you really want to hide the defects, there's always paint.

[Bill Rogers]

You can "remove" (i.e.: lessen) dents in wood by placing a damp wash cloth over the depressions and then running a hot clothes iron over the wash cloth. You need to keep the wash cloth damp and you may need to apply the iron several times. The damp heat will cause the wood fibers in the dent to swell. This works best on unfinished wood but it won't work in scratches/gouges where the wood fibers have been cut.

[John TenEyck]

My testing showed GF's Gel Topcoat to have poor chemical resistance. I would not use it for a dining table. Arm-R-Seal withstood about every chemical I tried on it, and would be a good choice if you are proficient at applying it to a large surface. I tried it on a 5 ft diameter table and couldn't get it on without streaks. I'm just way better at spraying something that large. Which brings me to my preferred recommendation, GF's EnduroVar. It had even better chemical resistance than solvent based polyurethane in my testing and goes on beautifully with a foam brush or spray.

John

[Jacob Reverb]

Garage floor epoxy paint.

[Howard Acheson]

One of the ways most professionals ensure that there are no surface defects is to wipe the prepared surface with a rag wetted with mineral spirits. This will highlight any sanding miscues or glue blobs that sanding missed. It will also allow you to preview the look of the wood after a clear coat is applied. Allow the mineral spirits to fully evaporate before applying your clear coats.

Here is an excerpt from a write-up I did for a woodworking club newsletter some years ago.

Most important was that there was a big appearance affect if the surface was not HAND sanded in the direction of the grain using the highest grit used on the sanding machine. A flat pad sander produced a much flatter surface than a ROS. However, both required final hand sanding with the grain for optimum appearance. If not hand sanded, swirl scratches could show. Final hand sanding using a sanding pad in the direction of the grain is a must.

Edit: I meant to add, that I have never found any clear finish that will hide sanding or glue mistakes.

[phil harold]

add some color to the first coat or buy poly/stain stain
migth need one - three coats to hide defects
of course you will lose grain too

coat with regular poly afterwards so you have at least 3 coats

too many coats it will look like plastic...