Burnishing slabs for benchtops with no idea what I am doing!
I'm new to both this forum and woodworking in general, having avoided the addiction until late in life! So bear with me if I sound like a ditz.
We are preparing three slabs of blue gum (ranging from 2100 x 1100 to 3400 x 700) for kitchen benchtops. The plan is to use Organoil Hard Burnishing oil, and I have the info on applying etc, BUT there's a gap in the info, from my perspective anyway. It doesn't allow for total ignorance and doesn't tell me what machine I should use. It recommends "power sanding" in of the oil rather than hand sanding, for a higher lustre finish, starting with 400 grit for the initial burinishing, but going to 1200 wet and dry.
What sort of sander would I use for this? To date I have used a hand held sander/polisher to keep the natural sort of edges, a belt sander to get rid of the saw marks and then a random orbital. I have done up to 240 grit and thought I would wait until I get the oil to do the 400 grit, but again - I wouldn't think the random orbital would be good with the oil - or would it? I can't seem to find anything finer than 400 grit for it.
I am filling any imperfections (cracks, holes) with resin - anyone think that's a bad idea? Before I start?
Any hints, tips or suggestions are REALLY welcome! Thanks, Liz