. . . . stumbling and bumbling my way through it, again . . . . .
Good Morning gang, several months ago i finally finished redoing the bathroom, including a cherry vanity that i put 3 to 4 coats of Bartley’s gel on before i posted here asking if i would have been better with brush on . . . . i was advised the gel builds slower, but given where i was it seemed an additional few coats would be the way to go. Life got in the way, and now it is time (okay, PAST time) to do the additional coats.
The bathroom has had a little use, but not much because the kids are back to college, law school and/or seeking fame and fortune, etc. So, here is the question:
Should i wipe the cabinets with mineral spirits before putting on more coats, or will this soften the finish? Do i need to do a scuff type light sanding to give the surface more bite, ie has so much “curing” occurred that i waited too long to build additional coats?
Thanks in advance, Patrick
Edited 8/31/2008 1:42 pm by stpatrick
Replies
I'm no expert but I do like to use gel poly varnish. I don't hesitate to whipe with mineral spirits and lightly hand sand with a very high grit between coats. Actually I sand first and use a mineral spirits tack cloth (not soaking wet) to clean up the debris. I do this primarily because it leads to a much smoother final surface, free of those tiny bits of crap that show up no matter how dust free your environment is, and secondarily because I have been lead to believe that I should do so for the purposes of adhiesion (the sanding, not the mineral spirtis). I have yet to try a light sand and whipe after the final coat because maybe I'm worried about sheen uniformity? But I think the result would be an even slicker feel. I don't think that more cure time could be an issue as long as you do sand before the next coat.
Brian
Edited 9/18/2008 12:52 am ET by BrianDerr
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