I'm new to this board but have read any of the threads and learned a lot. My problem is this: After all the necessary prep including oil stain, I applied two coats of Varathane Oil base to the floor. I let it cure for two weeks ( I was unavailable) and then screened the floor with 150 grit on an orbital square sander. I cleaned the floor, tacked it and spread the third coat using a 4" White Bristle brush.

The floor layed out beautifully, but I can see the small swirl marks left by the screening process telegraph through the finish. The sheen by the way is gloss on all three coats. The rental yard did not carry anything finer than 150 grit nor did they have any 3M maroon pads I've seen mentioned on this site.

How do I rid my self of the swirl marks? Do I need to go to a round buffer? Will a second (fourth) coat aid in hiding and if so, how do I prepare the surface to accept the next coat?

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

David

were the pigtails in the first two coats? If only in the final you can buff it down with a new screen then go back over that with a maron pad to take the marks out. Part of the problem is the high gloss sheen. High gloss reflects light like a mirror and your mistakes will be amplified, a satin or even a semi is more forgiving in that regard I would highly reccomend getting away from that high gloss its also going to show wear, scratches and everyting else you could imagine more than the other two options.

I suspect the pigtails had to be in the first two coats as I did nothing to the thrid coat other than lay it down. After screening the frist two coats I did not use any buffing pad (maroon or otherwise) to smooth anything out. It sounds like that is where I made a mistake.

Should I sand again in preparation for another coat, buff it first, assuming I can find another rental yard that has the maroon pads, and then apply a semi-gloss finish? If sanding, what grit should I use? Should I use a buffing machine or an oscillating square sander/buffer? The sheen is not all that critical.

Thanks for the helpful suggestions