produce a mirror like surface.
RUBBING TIPS AND SHORTCUTS
The fastest and easiest method of sanding the finish smooth is with No. 400 waterproof paper, such as
Wet or Dry.
It is also the cheapest, despite the higher cost of the paper, since it doesn't clog when it is used with
water, and it wears a long time.
The best sort of a block to use with wet sandpaper is rubber. Paint stores sell rubber blocks that are a
nuisance to use. However, you can cut them down so they are a plain block of rubber, and they work
well. Another way to get a rubber-sanding block is to use contact cement to fasten a piece of inner tube
to a wooden block.
Sprinkle water on the surface and sand. Keep a piece of paper in saucer of water, so the backing will
soften, and rotate the paper as its edges and backing dry. Many workers prefer to dip the paper in the
saucer of water, letting it drain, thus washing the accumulation of varnish powder off the paper.
Now and then you hear recommendations to use soapy water, but this does no good, and actually slows
the job down. Plain water gives you the fastest and cleanest cut.
Depending on how fine waterproof sandpaper you can buy, you may be able to do an entire rubbed
finish without using pumice or rotten stone. The equivalent to rotten stone is crocus cloth.
CARVINGS.
Most finishers don't try to rub carved and coped surfaces as carefully as they do flat or mildly curved
surfaces. For one thing, such a high finish is not necessary, because carved surfaces carry their own
decorative weight.
Wet sandpaper, in fact any sandpaper is useless on carvings, although it can be used on some simple
moldings. Try steel wool for early coats.
Then, toward the end of the finishing, use a small scrub brush to apply pumice and oil. Take special
pains to clean the pumice out of small cracks and crevices. Any that you leave will dry white and give the
carvings a scurvy look.
FINISHING THE OILED STOCK
Polish the stock with steel wool, rubbing until all the oil is removed and you are down to the bare wood
again. The pores of the wood, however, remain completely filled with the surface smooth. If there are thin
spots in the skin, repeat one or two more coats and cut the finish back to the wood again. Never start