Day 25 - Rubbing out the finish

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The key to any great glossy finish is rubbing it out. If you are not familiar with this process, it goes like this: First, you ensure that your clear finish coat is completely cured. Second, you sand the surface with progressive grits. In my case, all sanding was done wet and progressed through the following grits: 320, 400, 600, 1000, 2000, 3000. Third, use an automative compound and preferably a RO polisher (or sander) with an applicator pad attached. Finally, use an automative polish, which can be applied with the RO and hand buffed off. Be extremely careful about sanding over the edges. Edges hold barely any material, whether primer, paint or clear coat, and you can sand right through them with only the gentlest of passes with ANY sandpaper. IF that happens, just touch up the affected area, clear coat over it and continue. I did not take photos of the sanding process:




The products I used for compounding and polishing are shown below:


Note that even with the satin finish, the gloss comes up quite nicely after rubbing out:



The deck, as I mentioned in a previous post, was also clear coated with the satin poly-acrylic. It took the gloss down a bit and the result is more natural. I did not rub out the deck:


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