Baltic Birch Plywood and Varnishing.... :+(

[Danny]

What is everyones flavor on getting a real high gloss on Baltic Birch?
Think I am developing a problem with this wood.  Using a OIL product like Steves Lemon Oil, or Dans BLO/Spirits or any of the Danish oil products I just DO NOT see a real good grain pattern afterwords.  To Light....And even after three coats of Minwax Poly. there is only a SLIGHT shine to it.  Hey am I doing something wrong?   Thoughts of yours are appreaciated.  Danny :+(

[dgman]

Hey Danny, Unfortunately BB does not have much grain to pop, but an oil will ad a little color to it. I use spray lacquer for a top coat. Between coats I buff it with a piece of brown paper bag. It acts like 1200 grit sandpaper but without the gritty mess. On BB it will take about tree coats with buffing between each coat. I don't like a high gloss so I use semi gloss, but with the buffing with the brown paper bag, you will get a shine.

[mrsn]

yeah, there isn't much grain in most of the bb plywood.
Sanding or buffing between coats is helpful if you want a shine. I think I get better results using a lacquer then poly, but it might be just in my head.

[GrayBeard]

I like the semigloss spray lacquer myself.
The nice thing about Danish oil is that you can just wipe it dry and let it set and then buff it for a great finish.
~~~GB~~~

[tux_linux]

Try beech ply if you can get some.
It's as fine as BB ply, harder but really nice to cut. It's got the grain you're asking for and is to my point of view much simpler to finish because the surface is also harder than BB.

[Danny]

Think the Lacquer might be better than the Poly. But would you believe that Lowes or Home Depot here DO NOT sell the spray lacquer?  They used to and I took someones advice about using it and bought a few cans and I do remember it going on good and shorter drying time and Yes I think it was better than poly....  I asked one of the employees that worked in the paint department and was told that it didn't sell very well, so it was discontinued.
Makes me wonder WHY? 

Yes Dan I have applied your brown paper bag trick and Yes I like it.  Yea!

And Torsten I buy from Sloans, so will check into that Beech.  Sounds right up my alley. 

GB I don't know what got me into want to finish all my projects with the HIGH GLOSS poly., but this is how I feel makes them look better.  Will give the SEMI-GLOSS a try. 

Later....  Danny  :+} 

[GrayBeard]

That Hi-gloss just reminds me of 'bar tops' that I would rather forget!
And I feel semi-gloss gives a more 'natural' look.

~~~GB~~~

[Russ C]

I have used a lot of different techniques when I use BB ply to help enhance the look. Some times I use an air brush and create my own grain on the wood. I alwats use spray lacquer on the first coat or two before I apply the poly. It seems to seal the wood better for a better finish coat.