Smooth a Rough-Feeling Topcoat With a Brown Paper Bag, Not Sandpaper

The Problem

The last coat of finish dries looking perfect and feeling like fine grit — dust that settled into the wet film and cured there as tiny nibs. Sanding at this stage is high-stakes: even the finest paper can cut through the clear coat, and then the fix is another coat.

The Technique

1. Let the topcoat fully cure — not just dry to the touch.
2. Crumple or fold a plain brown paper bag and rub the surface lightly with it.
3. Feel as you go. The nibs knock down and the surface goes glassy without any material coming off the finish itself.

A paper bag is abrasive enough to level a dust nib and too soft to scratch cured finish — that's the whole trick. No products, no tools, nothing to buy.