Ash Wood Bed Marine Varnish - Project Get Shorty

Before I break open the Meguiar's Mirror glaze, I first needed to sand the wood. The wet sandpaper is the one thing not included in the Horkey's kit, therefore I ran to the paint store and picked up some 600- and 1200-grit wet sandpaper. Using a thin backing pad (which was in my Dura-Block kit I ordered from Eastwood a few months ago for my bodywork story) outfitted with 600-grit paper, I began sanding the wood with the grain, applying water to wood as I went.

The reason I put so many coats of varnish on the wood is due to the fact that I wanted to be able to cut the finish down for a smooth and sleek look. After sanding on the board awhile I noticed many of the high spots have been removed, but I still had a good portion of low spots. (All of the visible specks in the photo are low spots.) Luckily for me I built up the varnish extra thick so I could cut the varnish down even more and get rid of the low spots.

Here's a finished board that has been cut down with 600-grit paper. As you can see, the surface is smooth and free of any high or low spots. If your taste prefers a bit of a satin look, go ahead and ditch the next sanding step with 1200-grit. I wanted to remove all of the fine scratch marks from the 600 paper, so I went forward and hit it with 1200.

Once through, it was time to b-b-buff the wood! I outfitted the buffer with the Meguiar's pad and began to work the wood with the Mirror Glaze #1 compound. When doing this be careful not to burn the surface. Once finished, wipe the wood clean with a clean rag, then use a separate pad and work the wood with the Mirror Glaze #3. When this step is finished, the job is finally done.

Because Project Get Shorty's bed isn't painted, and assembling the wood in the bed is a delicate process (assemble the wood in the bed just like you would assemble a freshly painted truck: slow and patiently) we're not going to install it in there just yet. But here you can see how killer the wood looks! It is smooth and sleek, yet still shows the wood's character. Not bad for a month's work.