Final Polish of new deck

[midiman]

I would like some advice on final steps to polish the deck. I have 6 coats of Interlux Schooner applied. Sanded between with 320 grit. Everything is very level but there are some very small specks that I can feel with my hands. I would like the surface to be like a mirror.

Thanks

[longliner45]

if it were me ,,I would let the imperfections slid,,,,they will weather off ,,it never looks like the movies,,,nice boat,,longliner

[PAR]

Mirror finishes require ideal application environments and are usually most easily sprayed.

6 coats is a minimum coating. Thin your final coats enough to prevent stipple from the spray gun and wet sand with a finer grit.

[bntii]

Are you feeling some bumps after sanding??
Off hand it sounds like you are getting some dust/debris in the varnish film.
As per Par- get some more coats on the deck. The more coats, the better shot at avoiding the real heart ache of having the sun burn the finish off in the first year of service.
It is EXTREMELY difficult to find conditions where there is no dust in the air. The smallest mote of dust will settle on the surface and the meniscus will pull the varnish up in a small hump in the surface film. It's probably simpler to just buff out the final coat to get a perfect job than try to set up a dust free booth for the work.

[midiman]

I can feel very fine specks of dust but no bumps. Since this is my garage I assume it is as good as it gets. I brushed it on with a badger hair varnish brush. I found that adding 5% brushing liquid (333) made it flow nice without running.

If I was to buff it out should I use some sort of compound? I never buffed any surface before???. What disk size and RPM is optimal for this application?

Many thanks

[fiberglass jack]

Pars right you will only get a erfect finsh if you spray and are in a good booth, not a home made setup. from what I can see the job looks great , i would wait a few months before you try to cut and polish this way the aint will get hard , its difficult to polish if its still not fully cured a few hot days in the sun will help. In most bodyshops the painters have a little tool called a denibber that looks like a very fine file they use this to remove any bits of dust that gets into the paint then they will polish .

[PAR]

Polishing varnish is difficult at best. You have to have considerable skill with a buffer, use a good variable speed machine, know what speed to use, what cutting agent, etc. Varnish takes a long time to truly cure and once cured is really easy to "swirl" up or scratch with a buffer.

Working in a garage will not provide the environment you need for a mirror finish. You need a down draft booth with climate control and curing lamps would be nice too.

You can cut down on the dust by installing a drop cloth (clear plastic stuff at the hardware store) over the work, as close to the surface as comfortable. This keeps a large percentage of airborne particulates from falling down, onto the wet finish. Another trick is to wet the floor, under and around the project with water, which keeps dusts stirred up by shuffling feet to a minimum. Allow only the person applying varnish is the area and once done, seal the area for 12 hours, without disturbing anything. Also move slowly and deliberately during the process, as to not deposit particulates on the work.

If this sounds a little anal about things, it is and the only reliable way to get mirror finishes with varnish or other slow drying materials.

[alan white]

The show boats are polished. They use a vert fine compound or schedule of compounds. You can learn about this by googling Chris Craft, Gar Wood, Hacker-Craft, and so on, maybe adding the search terms, polish, compounding varnish, etc..
A grouting float, I think, is used. Bear in mind, leveling (by sanding the wood and then the varnish) beforehand must be flawless, and those who polish are already getting what most would describe as an unbelievable varnish job.
90% of the flawless finish is in the wood sanding. If that's not great, no amount of varnish and compounding will help.
Also, 180 grit is better until the final sanding, which could be 320-400. The job will be flatter.
Alan

[bntii]

BTW- the boat is looking great.
Looks like a very nice job in all regards.

[ancient kayaker]

Wish I could do as well.

Are you planning the exhibit it or sail it?