Spraying deft over arm r seal?

[John Hollander]

I have been having an extremely difficult time finishing out a live edge walnut table top. I started off with a coat of linseed oil, s few coats of gloss arm r seal and then a few coats of satin arm r seal. That's when the problems began. Every time I put down a new layer of arm r seal it looks good when it is wet but then when it drys I can see my wipe strokes. They have a slightly cloudy appearance. I tried buying new arm r seal, thinning it, brushing it with a wide foam brush, made sure to stir the arm r seal throughly,nothing had worked. I have sanded down the top with 300 grit every time before putting down a new coat of satin and these brush strokes disappear ( though now I can see the sanding marks). I cannot figure out what I am doing wrong. I have finished with arm r sea before and have never had this problem before. At this point I am getting desperate. Finishing This coffee table has been taking over my shop for months now. I am desperate to just finish this project so I can move to my other projects that have started to pile up.

Long story short I am thinking that maybe I can sand down the last coat with some 600 grit sandpaper to remove the wipe stroke marks. Tape off the sides of the top and base and spray a thin coat of deft on the top. I am thinking this might eliminate the brush stroke issue. Ideally I would like to use the arm r seal exclusively, but at this point I just don't know what else to do. Will this work or will I have issues with the deft on the arm r seal?

[Art Mann]

If you are talking about spraying Deft Lacquer, I wouldn't advise it unless you try it elsewhere first. The lacquer thinner will dissolve some of the Arm-R-Seal and the result may not be attractive.

[Prashun Patel]

I don't think you should switch to the Deft at this point. I think you should continue on with the Arm R Seal. Satin is not the easiest thing in the world to wipe. Over-wiping can lead to strokes. Also, Arm R Seal can get thick as you near the bottom of the can.

Here's what I'd do:

flip the table over and perfect your technique on the bottom. Stir the can very well to get all the flatteners well suspended. Use a larger swatch of applicator towel (I like the blue shop towels), and apply quick and in broad circles. I have luck going back over the whole surface immediately with the damp towel (without redipping), exactly once. If I do it more than that I can get streaks or swirls too.

You don't want to put too much or too little. You want the surface to be slick, as if you've sponged a counter. The famous "kid wiping the table at the burger joint" analogy really captures the image perfectly.


So, think thin and quick. Keep at it. You will get it!

Oh yeah, one more thing: don't be in a hurry to repeat coats. If there is any drag on the surface, your ability to move swiftly will diminish and you'll get sticky circles. This may mean waiting a full day between wipe on coats. Don't be impatient in this regard. The longer you wait, the easier your next coat will go on.

Once you've perfected the bottom, flip, sand with 600, and give your top two final, flawless, coats.

[John TenEyck]

I got myself in a similar pickle with gloss Arm-R-Seal on a live edge slab. No matter what, I could not wipe it on without seeing streaks or lap marks. I finally diluted it about 25% with mineral spirits and applied it with a 3" foam brush. It was a miracle. It self leveled beautifully. I had a few bubbles but not many and they filled with subsequent coats after I sanded with 325 grit (IIRC). When I had a enough coats on it (about 6) I rubbed it out. I took the easy way out and used 1200 grit sandpaper on my ROS, followed by 1500 grit. Then I switched to 3000 grit Abralon foam disks, also on my ROS, and then 4000 grit. At that point it was a beautiful satin finish. The top was about 3.5' x 5' and the whole process took about an hour. I went on to a gloss finish by using automotive polishing compound, but if you want a satin finish you could just stop after the 4000 grit Abralon. For big, flat surfaces I may never use satin Arm-R-Seal again. After I was done I found an article by Teri Masashi in FWW that described a rubbing out process almost exactly like the one I used.

John

[John Hollander]

I got myself in a similar pickle with gloss Arm-R-Seal on a live edge slab. No matter what, I could not wipe it on without seeing streaks or lap marks. I finally diluted it about 25% with mineral spirits and applied it with a 3" foam brush. It was a miracle. It self leveled beautifully. I had a few bubbles but not many and they filled with subsequent coats after I sanded with 325 grit (IIRC). When I had a enough coats on it (about 6) I rubbed it out. I took the easy way out and used 1200 grit sandpaper on my ROS, followed by 1500 grit. Then I switched to 3000 grit Abralon foam disks, also on my ROS, and then 4000 grit. At that point it was a beautiful satin finish. The top was about 3.5' x 5' and the whole process took about an hour. I went on to a gloss finish by using automotive polishing compound, but if you want a satin finish you could just stop after the 4000 grit Abralon. For big, flat surfaces I may never use satin Arm-R-Seal again. After I was done I found an article by Teri Masashi in FWW that described a rubbing out process almost exactly like the one I used.

John

What did sanding from 1200-4000 grit do? Does it look any different or just feel silky smooth?

[John TenEyck]

What did sanding from 1200-4000 grit do? Does it look any different or just feel silky smooth?


At 1200 grit CAMI you have no real sheen, it's just flat and dull. 4000 grit on an Abralon pad, which I think is on the micromesh scale, is about 2000 CAMI and gives you a beautiful satin sheen. Plus the Abralon pad gets into any little surface irregularities in the top, of which I had many, so that the sheen is constant everywhere.

John