: I ended up sanding with 1000 then 1500 (flushing with water continuously),
: and then polishing with 3M fine polishing compound, and finally using 3M
: "paint swirl remover, which is very fine.

: Now I have a problem....... I can't get a high gloss to the finish! I have
: tried almost everything to get it back to the original gloss finish, but
: nothing seems to work.

Hi Dan

I used Varathane Water-Borne Urethane to final coat my canoe. I put on 8 coats, didn't sand till the first 4 were on and hard. Then sanded ( wet silicone-carbide ) with 600 grit and again after 6 coats. After the eighth coat I let it set for a week. Then I started in with a light, wet sanding of 600, and progressed up to 2000, just as you did. At the end of that process the finish was, as you say, less that 'perfect'. Seemed a little cloudy and not near the shine of fresh resin or the Urethane.

Remember that any finish has scratches, no matter how fine you go... I did as you and looked to an auto finish type polish ( 3M as well ). Still wasn't up to snuff. So, I went back to the shelf and pulled out my 3M 'Finesse-It II' Finishing Material, part no. 051131-05928. I applied this with the electic buffer ( 2500 rpm only ). When I wiped off the residue... A Mirror was staring me in the face.

And before anyone chimes in with the " Waste of Time " comments... this project was a training project and was used to experiment with several ideas... It's actually going to be given to the Grandkids in a couple of days and after that, it will probably take the beating of it's life... And it was built to take it. I was just playing with the finish to see what I could do to it and how much work it would be.. I have no fear of the finish being destroyed.. I DID find it to be rather easy obtaining this quality of finish.. and will use it in the future, on MY own boats.

The Varathane itself is an experiment, to see how it holds up compared to varnish. It's a heck of a lot easier to apply and dried to recoat in an hour.

Not sure it shows but around the bottom of that figure in the Okoume, you can see the hatchet... ?? Didn't show as well as I'd hoped with the flash... A photographer, I'm not..!! The light stand behind me actually shows up better. Take my word for it... it's just like glass.

I do not know how Varnish will take a shine.. But, if you put on Poly, it may have enough UV protection that you don't need varnish. There are folks here that can probably give you Stats on this, but the Varathane I used had as much or more UV protection than any varnish..

You might try the same thing with the Poly.

Also, as I think I was going to ask in the first place... Did you give each coat of finish the proper curing time before trying to polish it out.?? I know that most finishes won't take any sort of shine until they are totally cured.. ??

Good Luck with that Shiner... Hope to see it when you've got her 'finished'.

Rehd
Fresno, Calif.
Chillin' @ near 80*..

I've been baking cookies all day.
43 dozen since yesturday, along with fudge, divinity and those GREAT Rice Krispie Treats..
Gotta open a window so I can get to sleep...