Dale1

I too have been mixing my own wipe-on poly for many years. I mix it in an empty plastic cream cheese tub. Then I put the lid on the tub between coats. I usually apply two or maybe three coats per day. When finished I dump the remaining thinned poly back into the original can.

I typically sand with 320 grit after each two coats for the first four (or six) coats.

Finally, I polish it with a very fine abrasive pad (bought at an auto parts store) using the wipe-on poly as a lubricant. After polishing with the pad I wipe the poly off with blue shop towels. I clean the pad in mineral spirits and reuse it many times. This gives a very smooth surface with little fuss and time.

Sometimes I polish it further with wax using a fine polishing pad.