Finish & polish
Wet sanding a tabletop to glass-smooth
Three wet grits and a buffer. That's a tabletop you can see yourself in.
A poured finish or thick varnish becomes glass-smooth with the same climb auto painters use on clear coat. Patience is the only hard part.
The climb
The exact sequence, in order.
- 1800
Level dust nibs and orange peel
Wet block sand. Soap and water as lubricant.
Reach for
3M Wetordry Assorted Pack — 600 to 1500 Grit
- 21500
Refine the surface
Same wet technique. Surface goes flat-matte.
Reach for
3M Wetordry Assorted Pack — 600 to 1500 Grit
- 32000
- 43000
Last grit before compound
Wet, by hand or with a 3" Trizact on a polisher.
Reach for
3M Wetordry — 3000 Grit
- 5compound
Bring back the gloss
Cutting compound on a foam pad. Then finish polish.
Reach for
Meguiar's Ultimate Compound
Watch out for
The things that quietly ruin the job.
- ·Wait two weeks after the final coat. Wet sanding uncured finish ruins it.
- ·Keep it flooded. Dry-sanding finish at 800 leaves visible scratches.
- ·Build sample boards first if you've never done it. The technique is repeatable but the first one is rough.
Questions people ask
The practical part.
Epoxy or varnish — same climb?
Same climb. Epoxy is harder so it takes longer at each grit but the sequence is identical.
Keep going
Adjacent jobs.
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