Making a high gloss table top finish

Hi, I am about to refurbish a Douglas Fir table top, and my son ( well, his partner, anyway) wants a gloss finish.

My understanding on how to do this is:

1. Use a spirit based stain on the Douglas Fir

2. Spray 4 coats of polyeurethane to make a thick layer and then let it cure for 3 weeks
Q1. What brand of poly would you recommend, and what thinner, and how diluted should the spray coats be 50/50% ?
Q2. Should I sand between each of these coats?

3. Start sanding back the thick poly film using 400 -800 - 1200 grit paper
Q3. Would a random orbit sander be OK to do this?

4. What happens next? Car cutting polish?

I would appreciate any ideas and suggestions on how best to do this table top. The sanding back and staining starts tomorrow :)

I would use Rustins Plastic Coating more durable than "poly" in my experience it will out last any poly product that I have come across,you don't have to wait 3 weeks before polishing, it can be finish to satin, gloss or a high mirror like gloss it is highly resistant to spills e.g. water tea coffee, wine spirits etc.

Thanks China, for this information. I found a local supplier for it too

When it comes to high gloss on timber, it has to be full grain filled. What I would do is sand it down with either 240 or 320 grit to get the rid of the scratches.Then I would coat it when a timber sealer usually dry within an hour or so then i will sand i will quickly run it over with a 320 grit. I would then spray a clear polyester making sure it covers all the grains then let dry for a day. I would flat sand it the next day start with 320 then go over it with 500 and it should be ready for topcoat which i normally use 2pack automotive clear topcoat. Just like what i did to this front door >> Interior & Exterior doors | Facebook

thanks for this advice GPL, much appreciated. I previously did a test piece of ply, flooded it with varnish sprayed on, but it was a mess, with large grain gaps that weren't there ( or so I thought) after sanding to 240 grit, and bad patching of the finish :(

Decided that spraying "stain and varnish" out of the can was not a good idea, will revert to brushes for that, as per the manufacturer's recommendation

Hi Jill

I've done a couple of dining tables and a few other pieces with a mirror gloss finish. I have used polyurethane as well as lacquer. My favourite by a long margin is acrylic lacquer. Easy to apply, easy to polish into a mirror finish - just use the automotive clear coat acrylic. I am currently doing a hall table with this.

For polyurethane, I have had a lot of success with Minwax wipe on poly. My technique is to level the table perfectly and pour the poly on out of the can, then spread it gently with a piece of folded cloth ( t shirt material). It levels itself well using this method ( hence use a spirit level to set up the table) and you can build coats quickly if the weather is right.

In both cases I use a suitable sanding sealer initially - 2 coats sanding down in between to fill the grain. It takes much longer and is more difficult without this step.

Now, the bad news. If you want a mirror finish with Poly to last, you will need to finish as intended, let it cure for at least 3 weeks, lightly sand and do another decent couple of coats, let that cure and then polish. Why? because polyurethane will shrink into the grain and your beautiful mirror finish will recede with it. Building up extra coats after the initial shrinking phase takes care of it. It is a long process with polyurethane but I personally like how the Minwax product enhances darker timbers. Poly is also harder to polish out than lacquer.

But, it is all much simpler with Acrylic lacquer. Much quicker curing and build time. It doesn't yellow, is UV resistant and gives better protection than most other single pack lacquers. And unlike all catalysed lacquers, you can put multiple coats on without fear of crazing.