"Rubbing" out poly???

[John Miliunas]

I think I've seen something about this somewhere, but can't seem to find it. I have some stuff I'm doing in water-based gloss poly. I'd like to "rub" it down some to tame the shine a bit. Any "favorite" ways of doing this or is it even do-able??? :confused: I appreciate any info/tips.:) :cool:

[Carl Eyman]

John: I've never done it with waterbased, but I did a maple table years ago that still has a fine matte finish on it with oil based polye. I used 4/0 steelwool and oil (probably watco satin wax) and made sure I didn't let the polye set too long before rubbing. I don't remember exactly, but probably I tried to rub it less than 24 hours after applying. In other words get it before it completely cures. I don't know much about water based polye; so someone else will have to tell us how long it takes to cure. But try a test piece. I don't want you storming down here with a ruined piece of work and fire in you eyes. We have enough debris from the storms.

[Jeff Sudmeier]

John,

I did it on the Cherry Blanket chest. I just used really fine steel wool. I didn't use any rubbing compound and it still dulled the finish nicely.

[John Miliunas]

Thanks guys. I just shot the last coat yesterday afternoon, so maybe the window of opportunity is still open!:) I did shoot an "extra" as a test piece to begin with (yeah, I've learned with age!:D ), so I'll try it on that one.:) :cool:

[Doug Shepard]

John
I'm kind of partial to using auto rubbing compound on polys - either WB or the regular stuff. Behlens also makes something that's more or less the same thing except there's also some wax in it.
http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=3237

A can will last you a very long time. I just rub it in and then clean off any excess with clean cotton rags. It does a good job of knocking back the glossiness and leaves a super smooth finish - assuming you don't have any grit or nibs in the lower coats.

[Keith Outten]

John,

Try Johnson's Paste wax and your ROS with a Scotch 3M pad. Put the paste wax on the surface and use the green or brown 3M pads, it will make short work of turning gloss to satin and you'll get a perfect job every time with no hand rubbing :)

[Steve Schoene]

Sure you can rub out water borne poly. You want it to cure as much as possible before rubbing out--think of a month. It is harder finishes, such as shellac and lacquer, that are the easiest to rub out, and it will be difficult to achieve the same quality of even rubbing with waterborne. Nonetheless, once cured it will rub out using the same techniques as for oil based finishes, though you should avoid naptha or mineral spirits for a lubricant--use water with a few drops of dish soap, or light mineral oil. I don't often use waterborne finishes so I can't offer any special tricks.

[Dennis Peacock]

John,

Try some Lemon Oil and a Maroon synthetic pad. The oil is your lube and you can rub it out like that. The finish needs to be cured before rubbing out. So let it cure for a couple of weeks before rubbing it out.

[John Miliunas]

Thanks for the tips, gents. Seeing as to how there were, at least, two schools of thought to the length of time I needed this stuff to cure, I chose not to take a chance. I really don't want this stuff laying around for two or more weeks so, I pulled my can of water borne satin poly and shot a coat of that on top. Pulled the shinyness down enough to make it acceptable, especially for the bottom of the treads, which won't be that noticeable. On this phase, I had shot 3 coats of the gloss for the build, with this last coat of satin. I think when I go for the main surface areas, I'm going to try two coats of the gloss and then follow with two of the satin. That should take the sheen down significantly and still give me the protection I'm looking for.:) :cool:

[Jeff Sudmeier]

hehehe :) Took the easy way out!! I don't blame ya, doesn't sound like much fun rubbing all of that out! Especially when you have the equipment to spray it with satin! :)

[Carl Eyman]

I feel bad that perhaps inexpert advice from me may have thrown you off track. I haven't tried to rub out polye for a number of years and perhaps my memory is playing tricks on me. It does seem to me, though, that when I tried to rub completely cured polye it was just too hard to rub out well. If the spirit moves you, John, can you save the sample piece you said you shot, wait two weeks, and try to rub it and see what you get? I'd be interested in the results. Of course, we won't know for sure if it does rub out ok whether it was the fact it was water based that allowed it to work or whether it was an old guy's faulty memory.

[John Miliunas]

I feel bad that perhaps inexpert advice from me may have thrown you off track. I haven't tried to rub out polye for a number of years and perhaps my memory is playing tricks on me. It does seem to me, though, that when I tried to rub completely cured polye it was just too hard to rub out well. If the spirit moves you, John, can you save the sample piece you said you shot, wait two weeks, and try to rub it and see what you get? I'd be interested in the results. Of course, we won't know for sure if it does rub out ok whether it was the fact it was water based that allowed it to work or whether it was an old guy's faulty memory.

Carl, absolutely, positively NO apologies necessary, my friend!!!:) I asked you guys for options and that's exactly what I got! For whatever idgit reason, I was "thinking" (yeah, right...:rolleyes: ) that I'd like to avoid shooting another coat on this stuff. Well, I tried doing some rubbing and quickly realized that, regardless of the outcome by whatever method I try, it will still end up being more labor intense and time consuming than to simply tack everything down again and squirt a coat of satin on!:D Yeah, "thinking" is not always my strongest attribute!:rolleyes: :o Next phase will be to see if those "thoughts" prove to be viable when I go to finishing the more visible areas of the treads (2 coats gloss, 2 coats sating). I'll keep you posted! And THANKS TO ALL!!!:) :cool: