finishing woes

[earl williams]

I am refinishing my dining table, and when I applied the polyurethane I found that I had used satin instead of gloss. will it damage it if I put gloss on top of the satin?

[Don]

Hey, Earl. Welcome to the forum. Actually your mistake has some benefits. Years ago when working with lacquer we would use several coats of gloss on a project and then topcoat it with semi-gloss. The premise being that the gloss would build without affecting the clarity. The result is a finish that looks considerably deeper. Even though you have the opposite situation I wouldn't be too worried about it. There is really not too much difference in clarity at those thicknesses.

If your project is still fresh, I would prep the surface as directed on the can, hopefully your material can be block sanded and the material will "cut" just fine. This will lead to a smoother finish.

If your project is old it will take a little extra prep, make sure you wipe the surface down with a good cleaner such as prepsol or other. The object here is to remove all contaminants, greases or waxes - especially before you sand. Urethanes can be prone to fish-eyes.

Anyway, If you want a gloss on this surface it can certainly be done - have no fear.

If anyone else has experience with this please jump in.

All the best, Don

[Jammin]

You can go over it with no problem, but make sure it is the same solvent base. I sand with 1500 grit before last application of poly to get any gunk out and last coat goes down smooth as glass. I most of the time spray all of my finishes, but you can brush on also. Just maintain a wet edge