How to treat final poly coat?

[RedShirtGuy]

I'm a finishing n00b and have been skilling up by finishing a table I made at TAFE by spraying on satin poly over a black japan stain/varnish (not REAL BJ) and now that I'm up to the final coat I'm a little stuck with how to be left with a nice smooth to the touch finish.

Sometimes I've been left with "stubbly" areas that look like they've come from overspray that hasn't flattened out and although I've tried different methods and orders of spraying I still get them here and there. (And let's not talk about the $%!^#$@ bugs)

Between coats I've been giving it a rub with #0000 steel wool which is leaving a nice feel but with visible scratches.

How can I be rid of those stubbly bits on my final coat without leaving scratches? Will EEE do it without leaving visible marks? Does the remaining wax hide the scratches? Do I need to sacrifice a goat to the finishing gods?

Cheers

[Humphrey9999]

I think the goat is the answer.

I use wipe-on poly rather than spraying, but to get the best finish I rub the final coat with 1200G W&D, then finish up with wax.
That might take care of your 'orange-peel' problem.