Best finish for a laminate stock

I used 7-8 coats of auto clear, buffed the last one, looks like its wrapped in glass! My dad sprayed his with a matte clear from duracoat, its not nearly as reflective as mine...
 
+1 on Zuba's response, But I would add more than 7-8 coats, more like 12-15 coats. The reason is if your not real careful in the wet sanding fase you can sand through the finish.

Here is my steps,
Seal the laminet with something, Joel Russo uses Gorila Glue, Spread it REALLY thin, Coat the the entire thing, Let dry and resand it. Start at 200 grit and work back up to 600 grit. I reccommend a sanding Block to keep it smooth.

Once you have all the gorila glue sanded off, spray with auto clear 12-15 coats. Let it dry a 24 to 48 hours to let it set up. (one trick i learned from a auto body guy, If you get a run use a razor blade to scrape it off. not sand, You will sand through the sorrounding paint)

Then wet sand it asif it was a car, Mix water with a dash of dish soap and start at 800 grit and go slow with a sanding block and keep the surface wet. Move to 1000 to 1500 and if you really want it to look wet go to 2000 grit, and then polish with a auto clear polish.

Be careful around the sharp edges, you will cut through the paint much fast in those areas.

Now the good part, once you have it at high gloss, you can alwasy take it back down to a mate finish, I thinks its called rotten stone.

hope this helps,

Willys46
 
Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil and gun stock wax works fantastic for laminate. I've done quite a few with great results.
 
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