Streaks in finish. How to fix? Shellac & wax

[Patrick Irish]

Board is smooth as glass. I sanded up to 1,500 with mineral spirits as a lube for the sanding. I wanted a protective layer over the 5-8 coats of brushed 2lb shellac.

I mixed my own carnauba, beeswax and mineral spirits. The finish has these freaks and swirls now and didn’t before I waxed. I wiped it with mineral spirits and sanded it again with 1500 and they are still there.

Do I need to drop to 800 and Work up again? Odd thing is at one angle is a perfect reflection but others the swirls and lines show up.

[Patrick Irish]

Another photos.

[John TenEyck]

My guess is you either have some wax still on the piece or whatever you used to apply the wax with or buff it often changed the sheen. I would try wiping it several times with MS on a cotton or microfiber cloth. If that doesn't get rid of the dull spots I think you will need to go back to 800 grit and start over. If it comes to that I would avoid wax altogether and just go higher than 1500 if you want a higher gloss. Wax isn't much of a protector anyway.

John

[Prashun Patel]

I also think you should wipe with mineral spirits a couple times; be liberal changing your shop towels or you'll just be moving the wax around.

I would examine the surface after it thoroughly dries and if it's pretty good, leave it alone.

I'm assuming you applied your wax by hand here which would not cause this problem, but I have experienced hazy results applying finishes over shellac on turned pieces. Friction from the application cloth against the spinning lathe can cause the shellac to melt, dissolve a little of the finish, and then dry hazy and scratchy and streaky.

[Wayne Lomman]

Waxing doesn't improve shellac. If you are worried about protecting it, it's better to use a different more durable coating material. Remove the wax and start again. You may have to apply more shellac. Cheers

[Ted Phillips]

Your wax mix may also have a bit too much carnuba wax in the blend. Carnuba is very hard can be tough to buff out to a shine without a lot of elbow grease...

[Jerry Olexa]

My thought would be to remove wax with MS,,,Then go at it again with shellac (padding) but with a higher amount of DA to aid the blending.
If not work, go back to 800 and work up again...Seems the wax mixture is your culprit..
If this is meant for kitchen or tabletop, I'd suggest a stronger protective top coat than wax such as a varnish of your choice.
Just my opinion....