best finish I ever used, I came upon totally by chance. I was rummaging through my stains and varnishes and came upon a can of Minwax Poly varnish that was about 5 or more years old and essentially empty except for a couple ounces in the bottom of the can with a thick skin over it. I cut the skin away and there was a thick almost gooey layer of urethane sitting there. I thought, what the heck, i'll try it and proceeded to rub some on a freshly done very fancy fiddle back maple stock with my fingers. it went on like butter and rubbed out tacky, much like a French Polish would. I did the entire stock and once it dried, i then rubbed it out with a scotchbrite pad dipped in fresh BLO as a lubricant, then I wiped it down with a rag just barely dampened with paint thinner. it is easily the nicest finish I have ever done. you can feel there is a finish on the wood, but it is definitely all in the woodgrain and the surface is smooth as silk. so now, I have to figure out how to obtain more of that thickened poly without having to wait another 5 or years !.
