Already lost count on how many coats of TO and reckon it could be around 15 but not 20 yet. It has had 1 x 1200 wet sand about 7 or 8 coats ago, followed by 2 x 1500 wet sandings after a further 4 coats between sanding. Below shots show some of the blemishes that need to be knocked down every few coats to make sure end result turns out good....in these we have dust particles, probably fibre particles from the small rag used to apply finish, plus the dreaded runs, all of which disappear with a solid sanding session.
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Next shot is just after spending 90 mins doing a thorough 2000 grit wet & dry sand all over. Yes, the wet sanding does dull the surface a little bit and when doing this tonight it felt like I could have kept going with micro mesh pads all the way up to 12000 grit which would have polished things back to to a glossy shine.
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Still needs a few more coats though as the final polishing process strips quite a lot off. From here I may need to do 2000 wet sands after every 2nd or 3rd coat just to give it some tooth otherwise subsequent coats don't want to take hold as well which leads to runs and blemishes. An easy trap to fall into.