finishing

[lon]

hi all, i have just started working with wood as a hobby in my spare time making dining/coffee tables and i have had little to no experience with finishing. i have finished a dining table a couple of weeks ago (river red gum) and attempted to brush on a finish using Wattyl Estapol gloss (the guy from bunnings said this is all i need), after i finished sanding the table i applied the estapol without using a grain filler (didn't even know there was a product for filling grain or you had to use it until yesterday) and gave it a light sand in between coats, and it looks disastrous, all patchy gloss parts all over it. As i said i am very inexperience, i would love it if someone could point me in the right direction on how to fix my ugly finished table and what products from start to finish would you recommend and maybe how to apply it for future reference for a inexperience person like myself. i will be mostly working with River red gum, Blue gum and Iron bark.
I do apologise if this sounds really stupid, but really have no idea.. Thanks in advanced for and help/responses
Oh and i was trying to achieve a glossy dry look finish

[footrot]

Ion, for river R gum you shouldnt need a grain filler. This may not be the technically correct way of finishing but is what I do. Ensure its sanded smooth-down to about a 400 grit (aluminium oxide paper). I now use oil finishes but used to use polyurethanes. Simply brush on the polyurethane (or similar finish) let dry as per advice on the can and reapply. May need a few coats until the final look is even all over.
If you've applied the grain filler over the polyurethane (others might know of a better way but) I'd say you have to sand it back completely to remove all of the grain filler and start from scratch. THe grain filler goes under the topcoat.
I use an oil finish (Organoil or Orange Oil or similar) -Sand job down to about 1200 grit, apply oil with a brush, wait a few minutes, sand again whilst still wet. As paper clogs apply more oil to the paper not the job. Continue until you are happy with the sheen and wipe back with a soft cloth

[rsser]

Yeah, don't sand Estapol coats. Just leaves scratches.

For a coffee table you need some durability to the finish. Even properly applied, Estapol will scratch with use and can't be repaired.

Like Footrot I'm a fan of oil based finishes (prefer Rustins DO) but redgum will take many products well. Consider Ubeaut Hard Shellac as well; easy to use and heat/moisture resistant.

Rustins is not that durable but can be repaired. I'm trialling FW Scandinavian Oil which has more resin content and so a higher gloss and appears to be lasting better on a heavily used platter.