Need help - want to make a piece of wood really shiny

LighterGuy

sorry if I come off as totally clueless, i built a fine looking poker table last year. Building another now.
On the first table, i used a varnish I got from atlantic homecare .. it was nice. But it didnt gloss/shine.

here is an example of what I want the new tables "racetrack" to look like:



http://www.junell.cc/pokertable/13polyurethane.htm

So will serveal applications of Polyurethane (as described in the link) achieve this look?


thanks

cardwizzard

Maybe try a high gloss yacht varnish, will give you the sheen your after.

Radiotower

I used shellac and wax on a project of mine and the finish is really really smooth and shiny. And you can buff up the wax to refresh it a bit. Apply shellac with a lint free cloth so you dont get any brush strokes. The real work is in the prep, sanding - sand with the grain, apply coat and re-sand with finer grit. Get some tac clothes from b&q to remove dust - i found that great.

fergal.b

Yacht varnish will come up nice It's a good bit of work, after a few coats of varnish I sand with 600 grit paper wet then 800, 1200, 1500 and 2000 then I use fine rubbing compound and finish with a wax.

jack of all

I like fergal.b's advice! I'm refinishing some hardwood at the moment using varnish, several coats applied, rubbing down with fine steel wool between coats and wax for the finish. Shellac and wax gives a great finish too and is nice to use but shellac won't stand up to use on a card table if alcoholic drinks (well spirits anyway) will be consumed!

cardwizzard

I wouldn't put a wax on any finish. Problem arises when you go to redo it again. Problems removing or penetrating the substrate. IMO stay well clear of wax.

fergal.b

You can also get a good clear strong and smooth finish with just a few coats of epoxy resin.