How can I bring back a smooth decoupage finish?
I hold a table to which I have already applied my cutouts and two coats. The first coat dried extraordinarily smooth, but the second coat left lucid brush swirls and I'm using a sponge brush. I tried to use the 400 fine sandpaper, but I thought I was going to scuff my cutouts right off the table. Basically, I'm not getting a smooth finish at adjectives. Is there anything I can do to correct, and but for, how do I keep from making it worse as I attach additional coats? (How lots coats do you normally apply to decoupage anyway? I figure until you can't feel the cutouts beneath the surface.)
Thanks!
Answers: I own never done decoupage but as a professional painter I have applied hundreds of gallons of polyurethane varnish. This is how I finish tabletops for a cup smooth finish. Apply one coat of gloss finish varnish. When that coat is dry I sand it next to 220 grit paper using a sand block. You don't have to carry down heavily when sanding. You aren't trying to remove the finish. The areas that are still shiny after sand are the low spots. Apply another coat and sand when dry. You will notice that the low spots are getting full up in a short time more with respectively coat. When the sanding scratch the whole surface it routine the low spots have be filled beside varnish and the surface is perfectly smooth. At this point it is equipped for the final coat. The final coat can be gloss, semi interpret or satin finish. The choice is yours. I wouldn't use a sponge brush. I would use a white natural bristle brush for grease base varnish. For hose base varnish the best brush is the Purdy Syntox. A foam brush doesn't put satisfactory material on the surface. I would expect 4 coats to be nearly right to fill the edges of the cutouts on your project. Make sure to allow plenty drying time between coats. If the sandpaper clogs instantly, it needs more time to dry.
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