12-12-2014, 01:44 PM
On a separate note, I reached out to Kenny Richmond at Richmond Designs and asked him how achieves his beautiful finishes. Here was his reply (he said it was OK to post it here):
Hello Geoff,
Man, you are working way to hard to achieve what you are looking for, as there are other ways with a lot less elbow work.
I can achieve the finish you are looking for, by spraying two to three final coats. No rubbing at all, no polish.
I have a friend in California who teaches classes on French polishing , which includes a rubbed finish like you want. He told me that it takes weeks, sometimes months to get a truly proper hand rubbed finish. I told him I will stick to using my spray rig.
Even spraying for the rubbed finish, takes some prep. I leave the sanding sealer step from 400gr to 600gr,.... then I begin with the final clear, with two coats. Let that dry overnight , then WET sand with 1000,.... two more coats, 24 hours curing. Then wet sand again with 1200 and spray the final coats.
Most finishers achieve the final that lies between Satin and Semigloss, by using many different methods.
What I do is,.. I buy Semigloss lacquer clear coat for everything. If I want a gloss finish, I just don't stir the material. After the can sits for a few hours, all the fines have settled to the bottom of the can. Then if I want a semigloss, those dulling fines are there, and I just stir. Now... the key to getting the in between, or below the semigloss stage, what I do is just add Sanding sealer to my finish sealer, and this adds even more dulling fines.
Result,...a hand rubbed finish look without the rubbing.
Once again... You guys are using rattle cans and I can't guide you there, as I have never used them. Without the rig, you lose the control of air pressure control, mixture control, and by not having these, you cannot apply mist coats in the final stages which is very, very important. Actually, almost a necessity.
My advice to you on this one... so not to go backward... "Meguiar's" makes a "mirror glaze" product, which is the final step for those fine scratches or swirls if you are buffing.
The company that makes the polish you are using, probably has this product.
One thing to remember... when you leave 600gr paper, you just about have to be wet sanding to eliminate grit or trash that could cause unnecessary scratches.
Keep the paper wet and free of grit, every few strokes of sanding. Wipe your surface about the same. If you are going to do any more sanding after you have polished, you need to buy some "wax and grease remover", wipe clean the whole cabinet a couple of times before you start sanding again. Otherwise you are just grinding polish into the finish and gumming up the paper.
I hope this has helped you, Geoff, I wish I was there to give you a hand. You can post this if it will help the guys in any way.
Merry Christmas to you all, and to all a good finish !
To me, the final few mists make the most sense and explain a lot to me. I had a Philco 71 cabinet professionally refinished for me. I would say the finish falls in between a semi-gloss and satin finish. The finish is level and it's as smooth as glass without a scratch on it. I'm sure the person that did it for me sanded everything smooth as Kenny describes above and then adjusted the spray gun to mist on the final few coats. Those final few mist coats dissolved the scratches and left a beautiful finish.
Like I said above, I'm going to move on to Rottenstone next. Once done I may do one last rub out with Novus 2 but will skip the paste wax. All of the spraying I have done so far has been with spray cans. I have an HVLP spray gun and an air compressor. Once things start warming up in the spring I'll learn how to use it properly. Once I've got the hang of it I'll wipe the cabinet down with mineral spirits to remove any residue that may be present from the Novus 2 and then apply mist coats as Kenny describes above. If all goes well I should have a smooth semi-gloss finish that does not require any additional rubbing.
As usual, I'll post pictures along the way.
- Geoff
Hello Geoff,
Man, you are working way to hard to achieve what you are looking for, as there are other ways with a lot less elbow work.
I can achieve the finish you are looking for, by spraying two to three final coats. No rubbing at all, no polish.
I have a friend in California who teaches classes on French polishing , which includes a rubbed finish like you want. He told me that it takes weeks, sometimes months to get a truly proper hand rubbed finish. I told him I will stick to using my spray rig.
Even spraying for the rubbed finish, takes some prep. I leave the sanding sealer step from 400gr to 600gr,.... then I begin with the final clear, with two coats. Let that dry overnight , then WET sand with 1000,.... two more coats, 24 hours curing. Then wet sand again with 1200 and spray the final coats.
Most finishers achieve the final that lies between Satin and Semigloss, by using many different methods.
What I do is,.. I buy Semigloss lacquer clear coat for everything. If I want a gloss finish, I just don't stir the material. After the can sits for a few hours, all the fines have settled to the bottom of the can. Then if I want a semigloss, those dulling fines are there, and I just stir. Now... the key to getting the in between, or below the semigloss stage, what I do is just add Sanding sealer to my finish sealer, and this adds even more dulling fines.
Result,...a hand rubbed finish look without the rubbing.
Once again... You guys are using rattle cans and I can't guide you there, as I have never used them. Without the rig, you lose the control of air pressure control, mixture control, and by not having these, you cannot apply mist coats in the final stages which is very, very important. Actually, almost a necessity.
My advice to you on this one... so not to go backward... "Meguiar's" makes a "mirror glaze" product, which is the final step for those fine scratches or swirls if you are buffing.
The company that makes the polish you are using, probably has this product.
One thing to remember... when you leave 600gr paper, you just about have to be wet sanding to eliminate grit or trash that could cause unnecessary scratches.
Keep the paper wet and free of grit, every few strokes of sanding. Wipe your surface about the same. If you are going to do any more sanding after you have polished, you need to buy some "wax and grease remover", wipe clean the whole cabinet a couple of times before you start sanding again. Otherwise you are just grinding polish into the finish and gumming up the paper.
I hope this has helped you, Geoff, I wish I was there to give you a hand. You can post this if it will help the guys in any way.
Merry Christmas to you all, and to all a good finish !
To me, the final few mists make the most sense and explain a lot to me. I had a Philco 71 cabinet professionally refinished for me. I would say the finish falls in between a semi-gloss and satin finish. The finish is level and it's as smooth as glass without a scratch on it. I'm sure the person that did it for me sanded everything smooth as Kenny describes above and then adjusted the spray gun to mist on the final few coats. Those final few mist coats dissolved the scratches and left a beautiful finish.
Like I said above, I'm going to move on to Rottenstone next. Once done I may do one last rub out with Novus 2 but will skip the paste wax. All of the spraying I have done so far has been with spray cans. I have an HVLP spray gun and an air compressor. Once things start warming up in the spring I'll learn how to use it properly. Once I've got the hang of it I'll wipe the cabinet down with mineral spirits to remove any residue that may be present from the Novus 2 and then apply mist coats as Kenny describes above. If all goes well I should have a smooth semi-gloss finish that does not require any additional rubbing.
As usual, I'll post pictures along the way.
- Geoff
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