Replies

1. 
   mufti | Aug 19, 2006 11:35pm | #1

               Well I am too old for you whatever gender, but I would make sure it's dry and cured. Then wash it off and using a hard pad and little pressure, remove the haze with wet and dry paper lubricated with soapy water. keep washing off and start about 600 grit, then go finer. Stop when the haze is barely visible and finish with auto haze remover but keep a light touch and keep lubricated. The surface, not you! Then clean and leave before deciding if to add another coat.

1. 
   plake | Aug 20, 2006 04:46am | #2

   Thanks a lot for the tips I will try
   to do everything you suggested.

1. 
   mufti | Aug 20, 2006 08:05pm | #4

              9619 is too complimentary,I forgot to say:-

   by sanding you were already trying to fix what you saw as a mistake. Guessing you thought the finish after two coats of polly out of the can ought to be smoother. I do not like polly as it comes, I think of it as treacle (molasses?). I would not dry sand treacle and prefer not to use it at all. However you now have at your fingertips under Q&A etc a fund of information to tap into. In your shoes I would look there before following my advice just in case there is a better fix.

2. 
   9619 | Aug 20, 2006 03:47pm | #3

   plake,
   Mufti gave you a great answer. Mine is a bit different. I would guess from the tone of your question, that you will face many similar questions in the future. That's the fun of being a new woodworker. My suggestion is to find an experienced woodworker who is not far from where you live. If there is a woodworking store such as Rockler or Woodcraft, they can help you find such a person. If there is a school that teachs woodworking, they can give you some leads. Search the web for woodworking contacts who are in your town. Nothing compares to having someone you can ask questions to before you try something new, and nothing compares to being able to show your problem to an experienced person. If that isn't possible, then try Knots.

   Why not practice staining and finishing on scrap boards. Try different things, and see what works for you and what doesn't. That way, you don't damage projects. For simple projects, you can get away with a Minwax sealer/stain after sanding to about 220 grit, and then a couple of coats of Minwax poly. Rub down the poly with 0000 steel wool between each coat -- BUT NOT TOO HARD.

   There are three parts to learning woodwork - knowledges, skills and attitudes. Knowledges are "facts" or at least verbalizable statemenets. Those can be transmitted by words. Skills are psychomotor cababilities that can only be learned by trying and seeing the results -- such as how hard to sand. Attitudes are a bit harder to define, but they can easily be seen in things like: how a person takes care of "safety", or how meticulous they are in honing their chisels, or in how they view handtools versus powertools. You can spot different attitudes easily on Knots.

   As the Kung Fu master said "Some things cannot be taught. They must be lived." Those are the "skills". The best way to learn them is under the guidance of a person who can watch and give you feedback. if you live in the outback and there are no other woodworkers within a thousand miles, then you have to try and try and try and try. You will learn, but it will take more trials. That's not bad. It just takes longer.

   There is another woodworking lesson that can be learned from Kung Fu movies. "Grasshopper, you are not ready to fight, until you are ready to die." The woodworking equivalent is: "You are not ready to make projects until you are ready to accept the fact that mistakes will occur." They will. Then the question becomes: "Do I try to fix it or start again". Of course, the only answer is "It depends." What it depends on will become obvious to you with experience. Having a teacher when you are learning can ease the way.

   Enjoy. That was wordy, but it is the best I can do. Find a local woodworking friend.
   Mel

   Measure your output in smiles per board foot. 

3. 
   SteveSchoene | Aug 21, 2006 11:33pm | #5

   Soapy water???  Hold off on that. Don't do it.  It could be exactly the wrong thing to do, particularly if you have cut all the way through the varnish into the stain and bare wood. 

   When you noticed the haze as you were sanding with the 400 grit, did it first appear in patches with the borders looking a bit like the lines on a topographic map.  If so you could have cut through the top coat of varnish, revealing "witness lines" that are the demarcation between coats.  The solution is another coat.  You can tell if another coat will cure the haze by simply wiping with mineral spirits. 

    

    

1. 
   plake | Aug 22, 2006 12:17am | #6

   I held off on the soapy water and put another
   coat on. It looks great. Thanks again.