Quote:
Originally Posted by Electra 225
GTobey, a fantastic job on that table. How long did it take, and could you run through the steps in detail? It looks like glass! I would love to accomplish that, but I fear I wouldn't be able to keep dust etc out of each application, during application. How did you do it?
W.D.
|
Sure, I'd be happy to. I know there probably are better ways to do it, but here's what I did:
1. Removed the table top, and set it up on my Black & Decker Workmate. Used Formby 0000 steel wool, and roughed the surface and edges of the table until the satin finish had turned into a smooth sanded finish.
2. Took a tack rag and cleaned the table thoroughly. Sprayed 3 coats of Minwax Helmsman Spar Urethane Clear Gloss, waiting an hour and a half in between coats. Took 2.5 cans to coat it thoroughly.
3. Let the urethane dry a week in my garage. Sadly, I did not have a paint booth, so I ended up with a considerable amount of dust in the finish. But, no worries, I was going to smooth them out in the sanding process, as well as removing any "orange peel" and imperfections from using the rattle cans!
4.Started with the 3M Sandblaster Pro sanding block, and 800 grit wet or dry paper. I used it with plenty of water to prevent the urethane from filling the sandpaper and rendering it useless. Sanded evenly with the grain until there was no more dust or bugs or any other imperfections visible. Rinsed the top and dried it with a towel, for inspection under a bright light.
5. Wet sanded again with 1500 grit paper and the sanding block. It was really beginning to have a bit of a sheen although it was cloudy looking. Rinsed and dried to inspect the evenness of the sanding job.
6. Wet sanded the top of the table with the 3000 grit paper, rinsed, dried, and inspected. the urethane was evenly sanded, flat, and very, very smooth.
7. Used Meguair's #1 Medium Cut Cleaner and my Snap-On Professionalu 7" buffer with a foam compounding pad. The table top really began to take on a polished appearance after just a few passes with the buffer.
8. Used Meguair's #3 Machine Glaze to further deepen and enhance the finish. Applied with the Snap-On Buffer and a white polishing pad. The shine and depth of finish was getting awesome.
9. My go-to product to remove any left over swirl marks or slight imperfections is Meguair's #7 Show Car Glaze. I switched to my Porter Cable random orbital buffer and used a polishing pad to apply the glaze. I removed it with a microfiber towel. Now it looked like it was totally wet or had a coat of plastic epoxy poured over it.
10. To seal it in, I applied Meguair's Ultimate Liquid Wax. I polished it in with a clean microfiber towel, and there it was, shined and protected.
Total time:
Last Saturday, about an hour to steel wool the top, and about 1 hour total to spray the 3 coats of spar urethane on the table. So 4 hours last week
This Saturday, about 3 hours to sand and buff out the table. So total time this week including re-installation of the table was about 4 hours.
Overall total time spent, roughly 8 hours.