Wednesday, September 26, 2012

SHOP TIPS- HAND-RUBBED POLY FINISH

When it comes to a finish sometimes you want the grain, other times you want glass.  There are many ways to get a glass like consistency on your projects, this is just how I do it.  The following is a video tutorial of how I finished a salvages oak sideboard.

Hand Rubbed Poly



When deciding on a finish you really need to know they type of use your item will be subject too.  In this case I opted for the hand rubbed poly because it was too cold for me to spray in the shop.  I would not consider this sort of finish to be overly durable.  The sanding slurry goes along way towards filling the grain and pores but it takes a long time to build a good hard protective barrier this way.  I would think twice about using a finishing method like this on a dining table that will see serious use.  I would use it however to fill the grain for that glass smooth base, then spray it with poly.  For items not subject to frequent spills or abuse, a rubbed poly like this will be fine.

PRO&CON of Hand Rubbed Polyurethane Finish

PRO- Ease of application, it is darn near fool proof
PRO- Provides a stable smooth base for topcoat aplications

CON- Durability, unless you are going to do numerous coats the film barrier produced will be thin
CON- It takes some skill when sanding for slurry not to cut to deep and effect the color of the stained wood.  Practice first!

Please direct questions to acme66@yahoo.com  I will post your question and my response here for others to see.

WORK SMART!  YOUR SAFETY IS YOUR PRIORITY!  USE INFORMATION AT YOUR OWN RISK!

1 comment:


  1. Good post but I was wondering if you could write a litte more on this subject? I’d be very thankful if you could elaborate a little bit further. Appreciate it!
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