This only works for flat, horizontal work.
I'm the type of person who doesn't want to wait 'til the end of the construction to see what the finish I think I want to go with looks like. I want to apply the finish to the first part I make and each subsequent part.
My first choice for non-oiled stuff is shellac, either as a grain sealer, or, more often the actual finish. And most of the time I go with lots of layers of 1 pound cut. Doesn't build fast but flows out nicely. 2 & 3 pound cuts are trickier since I use a brush - not worth cleaning a gun for one part at a time. And if I need a durable finish I"ve been known to use poly - also brushed on.
But with the thicker, more viscous finishes like 2 or 3 # shellac, poly or varnish, some- times the flow out still leaves brush strokes.
BUT - if you vibrate the wet part even fairly thick finish with brush marks will level out - or at least a lot more than just letting it sit.
I pulled a muscle in my back - cleaning out a clogged sewer line - caused by the idiot who owned this place before me (Curse you Reverend Shirley!). I say idiot becasue, as he was back filling the sewer line trench he'd dug to put in the cast iron sewer line he put in - this bozo planted - wait for it
- a REDWOOD TREE over the line. To make matters worse, he used "shorts" off of construction sites just to make sure there were plenty of bell and spigot joints for the redwood tree roots to have access to the inside of the sewer pipe. I own my own power roto-rooter type machine thanks to this nitwit.
So anyway, pulled muscles have become part of my life - as has the Panasonic variable speed, ergonomic bent handled back beating 60 watt vibrator. - you know - the one that rattles your teeth.
Anyway - I've brushed on some Enduro water based semi-gloss poly (over four, or was it five coats of dewaxed garnet shellac) onto a shelf for my lathe bench and the brush marks not flowing out. Got the Panasonic out and vibrated the crap out of that shelf and sure enough - the brush marks disappeared. My hand had that weed- wacker mild tingling semi-numbness
- but the ply was nice and smooth.
Your mileage may vary. Void where prohibited by law. Some assembly required. Batteries not included. Contact a physician if swallowed. DO NOT INDUCE VOMITING . . .
charlie b