How to get a glossy/shinny effect on wood

[orphe 10+ year member]

Im painting a new box and I want it real shinny. Is there like a lacquer, basecoat or some kind of special process that you must do in order to make wood shinny?

Click to read more...

 

[kickerlivinloud 10+ year member]

First you will need a LOT of patience!!! This will take you a long time to do. What I suggest is

First: Sand down the box before you do anything. The smother you get your base (the bare MDF) the easyer it will be later

Second: Put at least 2-3 layers of primer on. You can sand in between but it is not necessary.

Third: Put between 5-7 layers of paint down. Also you can sand in between layers but it is not necessary.

Forth: Sand like you never sanded before. I suggest doing a quick run with 600 grit paper. Also all sanding should be wet sanding!! Most from 600 to 1000. You can then slowly make your way up to the highest girt you can find. For me the highest I found was 2500. What you are looking for is to get ride of the all dimples like seen below.

You want all those little black pits to go away!! This i what will take all of your time.

Fifth: Get a rubing compound that is rated to your highest grit paper. If the highest grit paper you have is 1500 then get a rubbing compound that is rated to take out 1500 grit scratches.

Sixth: Get some wax and wax the snot out of the box. This is what will give you the ultimate shine and smoothness!

If you have more questions let me know and I'll try and answer them. Also Shiznelt would be another go to talk to if you have more questions. He did a sweet box a while back. Lot better then how mine came out at least..

Jon

 

[fwb_1234 10+ year member]

Yeah you opened a huge project at this point. You can make that think like a mirror if you want to invest that much time and money. There are some recent build threads on that topic.

 

[SHiZNiLTi 10+ year member]

Thnx Kicker livin loud. Check my links to see my box. I actually got it back from the kid I sold it too. I plan on using it in a home theater.

 

[packerfan 10+ year member]

why use wax when you can put a clear coat on top that lasts longer?

throw 5 or 6 coats of clear on it, then wax it, mainly to protect it and keep it shinny.

I perfer my way, 8 coats of clear and high speed buff it (not orbital) with the edge yellow pad (medium cut) and some machine glaze, then throw some carnuba wax ontop of that.

 

[phyphoestilic 5,000+ posts]

throw 5 or 6 coats of clear on it, then wax it, mainly to protect it and keep it shinny.
I perfer my way, 8 coats of clear and high speed buff it (not orbital) with the edge yellow pad (medium cut) and some machine glaze, then throw some carnuba wax ontop of that.

Only problem with using clear is the price adds up real fast if ur using a good clear coat. If its not gonna be in the sun (ie in the trunk of a car, or protectec by really dark tinted windows. U would be fine with just compound.

 

[Wonger 10+ year member]

why use wax when you can put a clear coat on top that lasts longer?

Why wax your car when it was cleared from the factory? Wax protects it and makes it shiny. Same on anything else that you paint and clear.

 

[rdzm50 10+ year member]

cover it with wood filler

 

[rdzm50 10+ year member]

i already did that but people keep suggesting i put a top coat of fiberglass resin

well sanding it good and painting it really good.... should do the trick....

 

[Immacomputer 10+ year member]

i already did that but people keep suggesting i put a top coat of fiberglass resin

There really is no point in resin. If you prime it well enough, it will be sealed just fine and take paint very well. Resin could be a ***** to get sanded down just right.

 

[rollininstyle04 10+ year member]

Depending on the color you are going for, you could consider using a laminate...its definitely a lot easier. If you want a gloss black, or a common color. My sub box has black laminate on the face (behind the silver trim piece which is painted):

 

[rlcowboy 10+ year member]

All those suggestions, WAY TOO much work & money! If you want to make an MDF box look just like fiberglass so u can paint it with auto paint all you have to do is use LOW BUILD PRIMER!! You need to use 2-3 coats but it hardens exactly like fiberglass, use 320 sandpaper. I've done many like this! I just ran across some good low build primmer made by Valspar that u can roll on instead of spraying it. After applying the LOW BUILD PRIMER and sanding then go find apply a basecoat/clear coat, but that will need to be spayed on! If u want to get some Low Build Primer around your area instead of ordering on-line you can go to anywhere that sales auto paint or most Napa's carry it! Good Luck!

 

[Qbenjamin 10+ year member]

you could scuff sand it and get some POLYSHADES from lowes. this is a stain and polyurethane in 1.

 

[rlcowboy 10+ year member]

yeah I should have mentioned that the low build primmer aint cheap! and a azz of elbow grease!

 

[AVSTANG02]

Depending on the color you are going for, you could consider using a laminate...its definitely a lot easier. If you want a gloss black, or a common color. My sub box has black laminate on the face (behind the silver trim piece which is painted):

beautiful.