By request;

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From Larry: hey Dave, you gave us a short hint of what you done to make this piece shine but could you take some time and give us the technique from start to finish..
I have to admit I did cheat a bit. I needed to get the oil to the point of build (sealed surface) so I sprayed it with lacquer sealer 1 coat instead of 3 coats of shellac. Lacquer sealer makes a great base for just about any finish I know of. It is receptive to oils, acrylic's, shellacs, kerosene finishes , wax finishes, faux finishes various gilding and acid over lay finishes, varnishes, epoxy's, the list goes on.

Anyway after the sealer coat was sanded I took 100 % tung oil and mixed 10% damar varnish and 10% BLO and then started dropping on drops and rubbing the drops out 10" - 12"'s X 10"-12"'s a drop for 5 coats sanding between each coat lightly. Finial costs were 100% tung oil. after each coat the amount it took to cover the area 10x 12 took less and expanded to the point where 1 drop would do a 16" X 9" drawer, 3 drops would do the lower side. The less drops the hotter the oil became because of the vigorous rubbing.
Before the finial finish was applied I used 600 grit wet sand paper and a little spit and water to sand the surface. Spit is a great lubricate for wet sanding. I then began waxing; 3 coats minimum, 1st coat was rubbed out with Liberon 0000 steal wool, you do not use hardly any wax just enough to fill and areas that have slight indentations , like grain that did not fill. Then polish and repeat 2 more times except with a fine cotton cloth to apply and another clean cloth to take off. If this is done correctly the finish will shimmer in the light. It will not be a high gloss but it will give you a great reflection.
 
Rob start out with a piece of wood you would like to do something to like a base ball bat. LOL
If you are working on maple especially you want to raise the grain as many times as it takes for it to be gone for the best finish. By doing so you take a damp sponge and rub down the piece of wood , take a blow dryer and dry it. Sand the wood down and do it again. You will drop sand paper grit each time Starting at about 320-400 and get down to 1200. This will make it smooth enough so you will not need to seal the wood. It is amazing what a little proper sanding will do for the finish. Problem is not many folk know the proper technique to getting a great surface instead of a good surface to begin laying on a finish.
My Brother Rod in Fla. refinishes BIG BOATS for the well - 2 - do :huh: he will get a great finish and then lay on a varnish with a boars hair brush , by using one (1) stroke over the surface then letting it dry and sand lightly with 600-1200- 2000 and then go back and lay one another coat. Sometime he will repeat this 3 times. He get awesome finishes which look rubbed out.
 
I have a question. This finish intrigues me and I really like the look.
I can grasp the concept of using the heel of your hand to rub it out but why not a piece of soft leather between you and the finish to protect your hand? Would you get the same result?
 
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