# Finished table with polycrylic



## Grozzler (May 21, 2015)

Ok so I have a finished table top that I have stained and sprayed on about 6 coats of polycyclic. My question is what else could I put on it to make it really smooth. Is there a type of wax that I could apply on it once in awhile? If anyone has any feed back that would be great!!


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

You can make the polycrylic smooth without polishing it. It just takes a lot of elbow grease because of the water. The finish raises the grain. Have you been sanding it between coats? If you sand the finish with 220 or finer grit between each coat the finish will eventually get smooth. If it is spraying rough you might need to add a small amount of water to it. 

I wouldn't put any kind of wax on the finish until you are sure you are done with it. Once you use a wax it makes it far difficult to apply more finish.


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

Depends, do you want smooth, as in the surface feels like sandpaper when you run your hand across it and you want it to feel like glass instead, or is the finish already smooth to the tough but you want it slick, like a freshly waxed car?

If its the former, break out the sandpaper. Start off with 400 grit, wet sand and work your way up to about 1000 grit, and follow up with one more very, very light coat of the polycyclic. If the latter is what you want, go to your local home center and pick up a can of paste wax and do your best karate kid impression


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## the dude (Jun 15, 2012)

I spray minwax polycrylic all the time and get beautiful glass smooth results. First coat usually does raise the grain so I will knock that down with 320 grit paper then after each other coat all I usually have to do is hit surface very lightly with 400 grit. Now that I'm typing this I forget if you said you were spraying or brushing it on. If spraying I would look towards you equipment. I use a cheap HVLP gun from Home Depot, I forget tip size off hand. It took a little adjusting to get it to lay down an even enough coat to wet out the surface but not build too fast. A very rough finish makes me think your volume may need adjusted or air pressure is too high. If one of those two things finish will almost be dry when hitting surface and will produce a rough finish.


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## Grozzler (May 21, 2015)

Ok thanks for the info! Also if I'm building a table and there is cracks in it that I need to fill in with something what would I use. The polycrylic is to thin to fill in cracks. I think I need something thicker to fill in cracks before i apply the polycrylic. Any thoughts on that?


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Grozzler said:


> Ok thanks for the info! Also if I'm building a table and there is cracks in it that I need to fill in with something what would I use. The polycrylic is to thin to fill in cracks. I think I need something thicker to fill in cracks before i apply the polycrylic. Any thoughts on that?


It depends on the crack. Are they superficial or do they go through the board? If they are superficial you could fill the crack with a wood putty. I prefer Famowood. If the crack goes through the board I would try to work glue into the crack and clamp it. It might also help to put a bowtie patch on the other side.


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## Grozzler (May 21, 2015)

No they are just small cracks in the table. They do not go all the way through. There are just cracks along the grain from when it was drying. They are big enough that the polycrylic does not fill them up. I'm ok with having the cracks as part of the table just need something to fill them up with so liquids don't get down in them.


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## the dude (Jun 15, 2012)

Just my first though about filling the cracks is an epoxy. I very well may be way off by suggesting that though. I know I have read of others using epoxy. I have a gallon jug of west systems epoxy in my shop from when I rebuilt the transom in my old Starcraft boat. I have been waiting for an opportunity to use it again for something else. I do know that it would do a fine job of filling the cracks I just am not sure of how you would go about applying the rest of the finish. The epoxy would not accept any stain like a wood putty would but if they are small enough cracks it may look just fine for them to be clear. I'm thinking spread epoxy is as small an area as possible surrounding the crack so it fills crack then once it's set up sand the top and sand off the epoxy where it isn't needed then apply stain. Like I said I could be way off it that just what my mind came up with. My experience with wood putty is that it always seems to stand out like a sore thumb once stained but I also have very little experience using it on anything other than hardwood floors. My thinking tells me they may be less noticeable if filled with something clear.


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## yank (Nov 15, 2006)

+1 on the use of epoxy. I have used a two part epoxy and a couple of projects, one was to fill a knot hole that went completely thru, and one project was to fill some wide cracks, both came out great. I find it enhanced the look of both projects, the crack and hole are there, but sealed and able to be seen.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Grozzler said:


> No they are just small cracks in the table. They do not go all the way through. There are just cracks along the grain from when it was drying. They are big enough that the polycrylic does not fill them up. I'm ok with having the cracks as part of the table just need something to fill them up with so liquids don't get down in them.


Another option is you can apply a drop of poly with a toothpick to the crack to fill a gap. It will leave a small ridge when you are done but that usually comes off with normal between the coats sanding.


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## Grozzler (May 21, 2015)

Ok perfect thanks for the help!!!


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## Grozzler (May 21, 2015)

I went and looked for some paste wax and wanna try rubbing that on the top. Only problem is the paste wax has a Color to it so it would ruin my top. I was hoping to find some type of clear wax that I could just rub in on top that wouldn't change the color of bar? Any clue where I could get that?


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## 2lim (Aug 30, 2009)

I use acrylics on some of my stuff, and I use a dark brown finishing wax. If you sand your top smooth enough(I normally only go to about 400 grit with wet paper) then the wax will not make a noticeable tint in your finish. 
The idea is that when you are done sanding, your finished top has no visible scratches, but looks a little dull. Once you apply the wax and rub it out, it should have a slick to the touch feel, and a nice medium lustre, that I really like the look of.

Simon


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

Grozzler said:


> I went and looked for some paste wax and wanna try rubbing that on the top. Only problem is the paste wax has a Color to it so it would ruin my top. I was hoping to find some type of clear wax that I could just rub in on top that wouldn't change the color of bar? Any clue where I could get that?


If you have enough wax on the top to affect the color, you didn't buff the excess off properly. Properly applied, you won't even see the wax


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

One thing you need to keep in mind using any wax is what ever the finish it needs to cure for a month before using wax on it. If the finish isn't cured completely it can chemically get into the finish. 

Rather than wax I would recommend a clear coat safe polish. These are available at automotive suppliers. In the event you had to go back and do more finishing such as a touch up a polish would be a lot easier to get off.


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