How do you make wood smooth and shiny?
You can take virtually any piece of wood and add a DIY shiny wood finish using polyurethane. The process is not difficult but it is time consuming and takes a lot of hard work to get a smooth, flat, shiny finish. Since the process is not overly complicated, it is a great place to start learning about woodworking.
What can you put on wood to make it smooth?
Get some oil-based urethane (I prefer a satin sheen) and a natural bristle brush and smooth the bare wood parallel with the grain using a progression of sandpapers up to 220-grit. Moisten the surface with a wet rag to raise the wood grain, then let dry for 2 days.
How do you make a super high gloss finish on wood?
Start buffing with coarse red rubbing compound, then finer white polishing compound. Before switching grits, clean all rubbing compound from the wood surface and the buff head. Give the finish plenty of time to dry. The drier it is, the faster and easier it is to buff to gloss.
How do I get a smooth finish with polyurethane?
Sand lightly with 240-grit sandpaper between coats, then let the last coat dry for at least 24 hours. This is standard practice with any wood finishing job, and is nothing out of the ordinary. That said, sanding bare wood beforehand to create a smooth foundation is key.
How do I get a smooth polyurethane finish?
How do I smooth wood without sanding?
With that in mind, here are three ways to finish wood projects (meaning to get them nice and smooth) that don’t require sandpaper.
- Scraping. This can be done with a knife held at 90 degrees to the wood, with a cabinet scraper or even a piece of broken glass in a pinch.
- Burnishing. Rubbing the wood.
- Sanding.
How do I get a high gloss polyurethane finish?
Put on the polish Apply only one thin coat. Then, remove any dust nibs with 1,500-grit sandpaper or a piece of brown paper bag. Finally, using a soft cotton rag or polishing pad, buff the finish to a high shine using automotive paste wax, photo below, which has fine abrasives that polish the finish even further.
What can you use instead of sandpaper?
Sand and a piece of leather or cloth, Pumice (a porous vulcanic Rock), Walnut Shells, Rottenstone (similar to Pumice), Wood Shavings, Corn Cobs, a Wood File, Scraping, Burnishing, or even building a primitive sanding tool are good alternatives to sandpaper.