First off, you have oil based and water based varnishes to chose from. Oil based products dry slowly and smell horrible. They also have a bit of color to them-and amber quality that is very beautiful but can alter the color of very light woods in ways that you might not want. Water based polys and varnishes dry quickly, smell less horrible and are as clear as water. If you have a wood that you want to finish without changing its color at all then it is a water based poly that you want.
Oil based varnishes, however, have a magical quality that do to wood what lights do to Christmas tree. The grain of the wood just jumps into the light and screams "I'm beautiful." It is pure sorcery.
The only problem is that the stuff dries so slowly that every floating spec of dust for miles around eventually lands on it and your mirror finish gets as gritty as a windshield full of dried june bugs.
Here's what you do.
Sand each coat of varnish with 220 sandpaper. When you get to the last coat sand it with 400 then 600 grit paper. Then rub it out with fine steel wool. This is a great way to make a bannister feel like hands have been polishing it smooth for generations.
Have fun painting.
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