Questions about polishing/finishing wood

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Here's some more pictures of the wood

>>1046082
Here's the basic process.

1. Prep surface. Usually this means sanding, but other methods exist.
2. Apply stain or dye. Optional, but common.
3. Apply finish.
4. Smooth finish if desired.
5. Repeat step 3 and 4 until final desired result achieved.

That makes it sound simple but it's not. Wood finishing is about patience. Take shortcuts, and it will look like trash.

Go to google, come back with specific questions. There are many, many guides out there about this.

>>1046082
It's called rubbing it out. It's mostly about spending a lot of time getting your finish down well, letting it dry well between coats, sanding a bit but not too much, etc. The actual rubbing out is pretty easy, but the steps before aren't necessarily so depending on what you're doing exactly. It should work on any wood that isn't falling apart or about to fall apart like bad HD "lumber" where a hammer will split it in two when nailing. You should pick a nice piece(s) of wood to practice on but it won't hurt to try it out on any wood you want. You can learn a lot from it. Try different finishes. Maybe you want to wait a few days between coats to get that extra polish on some pieces. This isn't something that you should expect to do well on the first shot.

>>1046085
>60 dollars for driftwood

hoo-hoo-hold up. did people actually buy this stupid shit? because if so, I know some 100+ year old root balls I could be selling for stupid prices too!

all seriousness shellac, or polyurethane. if you want super durable, epoxy.

>>1046186
Yes. All the driftwood is gone from my local beaches.

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>>1046175
thanks will look into it some more

>>1046181

thanks for the info, I was looking at some videos about rubbing with finish and it looks like most of the wood is flat and therefore easy to do that with. Could it still work with wood like this? (pic related) Or would I need to take a different approach

I might just try applying wax with a cloth

>>1046186

I'm not sure this is driftwood as it was very solid. I could be wrong though. I would have bought a piece of they weren't that expensive haha

>>1046233
It can work with that wood but you're going to have to be careful with how you sand the layers before rubbing it out. Or are you not planning on sanding them at all? You can always try a spraying a lacquer for an even smooth finish if you don't want to sand the wood at all but that does require additional tools. I'm not sure how well the stuff in spray cans works.
If you sand it smooth, then wax can work. Remember that wax isn't a durable finish. If this is going to be some centerpiece that isn't going to be touched often then go for it. You can always remove the wax later if you decide that you don't like the look. The other finishes are more permanent. An oil finish applies very similarly to a wax finish but you have to wait at least a few days for the oil to cure before rubbing it out. Although wax and oil finishes require more maintenance, they're easier to fix should something happen to them.

>>1046082
>>1046085
I'm 90% sure that it's drift wood without any finnish. Just picked up straight from the beach. To answer other questions:
>Anyway what is the process to get the wood looking smooth, shiny, and clean?
Generally as >>1046175 said, to give you some more practical knoledge
1.Prep surface, sand it with 220-320 grit paper. Before sanding (let say30-45min) wash wood with damp cloth to raise woodgrain. That way grain that would be raised by finish will be already sanded down.
2.If you want to stain wood apply stain.
3.Apply layer of finnish. let it dry. I usually don't sand first layer because big part of it goes to pluging wood cells.
4.Apply second layer of finnish. let it dry. Now you can very carefully sand with grit 1000 sandpaper any high spots or any imperfections. Just very lightly to not sand down through the finnish.
5.Apply last layer. If your not happy with the effect repat step 4. For later layer you can thinner your finnish, so it will be less dense and produce more smooth layer.

>does this help maintain moisture in the wood or should it be completely bone dry before application?
Short answer is kind of yes.
Wood straight from the forest is too wet, you need to dry it. Typically it is cut into planks and either klin dried or left outside to dry naturally (It can take 1-2 years for pine and several years for more dense typess of wood). When let;s say cabinet maker is buying wood, he usually left it for couple of weeks in his workshop for water content to match air in workshop. Or to put it in numbers, water content of furniture inside is 13-15%, garden furniture outside can reach 20%, fresh timber is above 100%. Wood shrinks end expands in 0-30% water content range and it will take water from air.
Finnish itself can slow down exchange of water from air but it won't stop it.
>Also does it work with any wood? or does the wood have to be a certain density? (redwood, driftwood, random wood found in parks)
Yes

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>>1046186


This is what the root ball pieces I mentioned here look like, I cut one down the center to show what the inside looks like.