Matte finish on dining table - options


atratinus

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Hi all,

I have my dining table top finished with two coats of Waterlox and it looks great, but I would like a more matte/satin finish. After some research, I have come up with three possibilities:

1. Use Waterlox satin for the final coat. (Duh.) Drawback: price of anything with 'Waterlox' on it.

2. Finishing with a couple

more coats of Waterlox original, then rubbing it off with #0000 steel wool. Drawback: possible unevenness in the final sheen.

3. Apply paste wax with steel wool. I wouldn't mind learning this technique as I've never done it before. But from what I've read this process isn't as easy as it looks, is less repairable, and I thought wax was responsible for the white rings from glasses.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

Ryan

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Long time Waterlox user and I would go with 1. The original is a dream to work with but their satin takes a little more care. I like to use a foam brush and barely overlap each pass. You don't want to overwork any areas as this messes with the flatteners and you'll have areas that are glossy.

Never been a fan of rubbing out to change sheen and wax will be a never ending maintenance pain.

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Thanks everyone, especially bubba, for pushing me toward what I think I really wanted to do anyway. (After all, I hate refinishing floors that have wax products on them, why would I do it to my own table?) And thanks for the advice on the satin, I knew about the stirring frequently, but I'll put the brushing technique to use.

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+1 on the satin but I will say that NOTHING and I mean NOTHING feels as nice as a properly rubbed out finish. For a matte finish I would wet sand with a 1000 grit Abralon Pad on a DA sander. The foam backing allows the pad to give an even sheen, and as a plus if you don't like it you can still apply the satin finish. :)

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