Am I using EEE wrong?

[Bluesy]

I bought a tub of EEE utrashine to use on polyurethane because the website says "Many other finishes will also be greatly enhanced by using EEE - Ultra Shine to finish the finish. These include Organ Oil, Danish oil, polyurethane, nitrocellulose lacquer, French polish, spirit varnish, spa vanish, etc."

OK, so I applied the EEE using t-shirt material, let it dry and buffed it off (by hand). The result is less shine than the polyurethane finish had originally. So I tried again, this time working the EEE a bit. I can feel the abrasive. I let it dry and buffed it hard, again by hand. Still the surface basically looks like it has been abraded by the fine particles in the EEE, but there's not as much shine as the gloss polyurethane had originally.

So am I doing something wrong?

[silentC]

Someone who knows a lot more about it will be along shortly, but my take on it is that it depends on how you define 'improve'. A lot of people don't like the wet plastic look that gloss poly-u gives and so applying EEE and then maybe some Traditional Wax over that will give you a softer sheen. In my opinion that's an improvement, not being a big fan of gloss poly-u finishes.

For a bright finish, the process is:

1. Wet sand with 400 grit wet & dry
2. Wet sand with 600 grit wet & dry
3. Sand with 800 and the 1200 grit wet & dry using soapy water
4. Allow to dry then polish with EEE

You should allow the poly to dry for 3 days before attempting the above.

This is an excerpt from A Polisher's Handbook, which you can get from UBeaut.

[Bluesy]

Thanks for your thoughts. I didn't realise you had to use a wax polish after the EEE. I thought it was supposed to produce the shine itself. After all, the product is called "Ultra Shine", so to me that means a very shiny mirror like finish, not a "soft" sheen.

[silentC]

Sorry, didn't intend to suggest that you have to use wax. That was just a thought. In the book, Neil suggests using wax with 0000 steel wool to give a satin finish - this finish does not use EEE. No wax is required for the bright finish detailed above.

A finish I like, which I use with shellac and might work with poly-u is to sand to 1200 with wet & dry and soapy water. When dry, abrade the surface with 0000 steel wool and apply three coats of Traditional Wax, rubbing with a soft cloth in between.

[RufflyRustic]

Hi Bluesy

On timber, the EEE UltraShine is not a finish in itself. You can get EEE to polish up and shine, but it will dull after a while. As SilentC said, apply Traditional Wax or another wax if you prefer, after the EEE to get the finish you want.

cheers
Wendy

[ubeaut]

Depends partly on the polyu you are using. Not all poly is real good stuff. Some of it stays a bit on the soft side for ever and nothing much will enhance it.

However if you have a good poly surface, that's hard dry (minimum 3 days, preferably 1 week) and it's smooth without anything in the surface (dust etc) or other imperfections, then you can use the EEE directly over the finish and it will improve it.

Continual rubbing or mechanical buffing will bring up a higher shine. However if you already have a full gloss you need to ask yourself what it is you hope to achieve by trying to add more gloss. It's a bit hard to make full gloss a fuller gloss. What you should get will be the same or slightly better gloss but an amazing feel that you wouldn't have had before.

For a brighter/higher shine:

You must rub the EEE continually until the desired effect is achieved. It is a cut and polish, not a wax finish, so leaving it to dry and buffing it off won't do anything to bring up a higher shine. You really need to work it till the shine has reached it's peak then remove all residue immediately and buff with a clean soft cloth to remove any waxy haze left on the surface.

If your surface is not perfect to begin with then you will need to lightly sand with 600, 800 & 1200 grit as per silentC's info above, you can go even higher to 1500 if you wish. Then use the EEE.

Like I said it's a cut and polish. It's not some magical remover of imperfections.

To cut the wet look and give a glow:

Again if the surface isn't perfect, do the sanding thing. Then apply the EEE with a soft cloth and wipe it off immediately. You can if you wish, leave it to dry then wipe off with a clean soft cloth. This will give a full gloss finish a glow rather than the plastic wet look. It will cut the shine slightly but should give the surface of the timber an almost sensual silky feel.

If done on a coffee table for instance, you should get a slightly dull look to the finish when standing over it. However when sitting down or viewed from a distance you should see reflected in it, everything on the room.

The quickest and by far the easiest way to use EEE, is to buff it with a Swansdown Mop. This will save you a lot of elbow grease and lots and lots of work. With a mop, you can do in a few minutes, what would take an hour or more rubbing by hand.

A good finish with EEE isn't rocket science, but it certainly is bloody hard work, especially when done by hand.

Hope this is of some help.

Cheers - Neil

[Cruzi]

Tripoli stone is a friable abrasive, which means it keeps breaking into smaller and smaller pieces that continue to sand the surface you are working. Effectively this means it works up through the grit grades naturally, until it turns into dust.
Non-friable abrasives just get blunt and rounded off then stop working.

Put in another way, the more you work EEE and similar, the smoother the finish. If the surface is glazed or scratched, you didn't work it long enough.

Hand cutting of finishes (any finish) is a mugs game, follow Neil's advice and get some sort of mechanical working done.

Either the swansdown mop recomended or a good lambs wool pad.

Using EEE on gloss poly will give a really nice feel to the job and can make the finish look much deeper, persist with it, its great stuff.

[Bluesy]

Yes that clears it up. I did have the wrong idea about it.

Your description "you should get a slightly dull look to the finish when standing over it" pretty much describes what I have now after using EEE. I probably need to try a wax over the top now as I want a mirror shine, not a "glow" as you describe it.