Devilleader501 Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 I have a project that will require some sanding and re-polishing of a fair amount of Future Floor polish. Is there any way of doing this or should I start over from scratch. It is a base I am working with that has had a full coat of future then a coat of Minwax Acrylic Varnish and then another coat of Future in order to bring the thickness up. I found out the latest coat of future even with a barrier in order to build it up a little thicker has failed and will need to be redone. If I have to sand any of the Acrylic coats down in order to even out the consistency can it be re polished like new again. I would assume that the coats would have to harden for numerous days before any said action would be able to happen. Just wondering if this is salvageable or should I start all over. It looks really good like it is but the thinness of the future and the Minwax I used is just not setting like I hoped for. I have also thought about putting a good thick coat of clear Varnish over it instead of trying the Acrylic again. To be specific here is a pic of what I am working with. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
S K Loh Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 Hi Devilleader501 The coatings on the base that you are doing looks pretty fine. It is quite normal for the sheen to look like that after several coats. You will need a fine grid waterproof abrasive paper about 800 or 1000 grid. Sand it down with a little water and soon you will get an evenly smooth though dull surface. Buff it up before coating it with Future. Allow sufficient curing time before the next coat. Perhaps 1-2 days at least. Personally a satin but smooth finish for the base will look better than a full shine IMHO. Good luck. S K Loh Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Devilleader501 Posted January 15, 2015 Author Share Posted January 15, 2015 SK thanks for the advice I appreciate it, what I am looking for is for the base to be very shiny and have a wet look much like you would see on a brand new Super car. Something where you look at it and it just looks 10 feet thick. I want to build up the layers of coating to make everything even, the red star is actually a raised piece of styrene that has been painted. I want the black base, star and everything else to be at one level. So far the star is still protruding above the rest of the display and that is not what I want. I want it to look like you are looking at a piece of glass with markings underneath. But I also still need to know if Future is Polish able or not. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
S K Loh Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 Well that being the case perhaps you can try another method. You can use clear polyurethane varnish. I get this from the local hardware shop. Thinned it down with turpentine and brush it on the black base to build up the levelling. They are much thicker than Future and so should be able to take of uneven levels. This calls for patience. Then sand it down and once a smooth surface is attainee, apply Future (in several coats at least with sufficient curing interval) to get the desired shine. Another alternative you may want to consider is to replace the styrene sheet red star with airbrushed red star or print your own decal red star. This way will enable you to achieve a smooth surface faster. For your consideration. Regards. S K Loh Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dnl42 Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 Instead of Future, how about one of those clear resins that are intended to provide table tops &etc? This one brushes on, and this one pours on. No experience with either, but here's an instructables article on the subject. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Triarius Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 I suspect the Minwax and Future are not entirely compatible. Just because they are both acrylic doesn't necessarily mean they play well together. However, your real problem is the styrene sheet. Even if it was the thinnest stock made, and regardless of the coating used, it will take an outrageous number of coats to level it out. Future is not a good choice for this, because it has a very high shrinkage, which is why it doesn't obscure detail. As dnl42 suggested, The best coatings to try are decoupage type coatings (Michaels carries them). They are shiny, and once cured can be polished to a high gloss. To answer your actual question: Yes, fully cured Future can be polished. Cure for at least 48 hours, more if applied to a porous surface. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
falcon20driver Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 I highly recommend using two part resin. It's super easy to use and can be as thick as you'd like. I use it on all my bases and swear by it. A good example of it is in my VF-32 F-14 build thread. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Devilleader501 Posted January 20, 2015 Author Share Posted January 20, 2015 Hey Falcon What brand of resin did you use and do you remember what the package looks like and about how much it cost. Also how thick is it when you pour it and what special attention should I pay to the base as far as prep and keeping dust from ruining it. I am very interested in this approach and didn't know home depot sold resin other wise I would have gone that way in the beginning. I have since started stripping the future and other water based clear off of the base. Luckily I used lacquer clear before I tried to seal this base so everything is coming out ok. I will have to repaint the lettering because some of it came off of it while stripping the clear but I will go to home depot tomorrow and try to find the resin and get back on track with this project. Thanks for all of the comments guys. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
falcon20driver Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 I use Parks Super Glaze. Its box has a picture of someone pouring the resin over a piece of wood. Its in the aisle with all the wood stains. I think its 25 bucks a box and that usually last for a couple bases dependent on size. Its super easy to use, just mix 50/50. The directions are really clear and easy to follow. I always pour in a room that I can isolate while its drying, and turn off any fans in the room before starting. Still air is your friend to keep dust away. The less porous the wood the better, because that'll drastically reduce the amount of air bubbles you have to fight. Once you pour it on, gently blow across the surface to help bring bubbles to the surface and pop. For bigger bubbles I use an acupuncture needle to pop them. I usually spend 15 or so minutes after pouring going over the resin clearing bubbles and debris as necessary. Then just let it dry. It self levels. I go back in a day and sand the drips off the bottom and presto! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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