[Geoff]

I did a test tonight on the top of the cabinet. On the right I went over it 3 times with Novus 2 plastic polish. On the left, I went over it twice with Johnson’s paste wax. The Novus did a pretty good job with removing the fine scratches while the paste wax seemed to have little to no effect. You can still see some scratches on the Novus side but I’m sure these will polish out with additional applications.

Picture with no flash
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Picture with flash
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Picture with flash
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I think at this point the best way to get a semi-gloss or satin finish without leaving scratches is to use gloss for initial foundation coats followed by 4-6 coats of semi-gloss or satin. Then proceed with the rubbing out process I was following; 500, 1000, 1500 grit wet sanding followed by 4F Pumice then Rottenstone (both with mineral oil). Then followed by Novus 2 as needed. A lot of work but what the heck.

I’ve heard others state that you can knock down the shine of a gloss finish by going over it with #0000 steel wool but I don’t see how you do that without ending up with visible scratches.

I’m going to finish up the rest of the cabinet with 4F pumice followed by Rottenstone and see how it looks. I have a feeling I’m going to end up with the same finish I had with the menzerna product mentioned above. I’ll then debate going over it with satin or semi-gloss followed by another rubbing out process.

Stay tuned.

- Geoff