If you are using Truoil or Permalyn Gloss, you will have an almost glass like finish once you have enough coats to get the pores and finish completely filled IME... once it cures for 30 days or so, you can decide if you want to keep that level of gloss or if you prefer to knock down the shine a bit to a satin finish. Yes, rottenstone will polish a finish if it isn't crystal clear to begin with- depending on the finish material used, but it will also knock down a glass smooth and clear finish just enough to take a bit of the gloss off if that is what you prefer. This works fine for me, but may not be your preferred finsih. On highly figured wood I prefer it because it knocks down the shine and still allows the chatoyance of the figure to come through the best.
There are other stones, not quite so fine, that also do this job but give a more satin finish, as well as stock rubbing compounds but most of them require a buff at the end to clean up any residual scratches left from application. It is a learned process and it takes a long time to get it right, but worth it in the end IMO....
I've never been much of a believer in using paste fillers or slurry sanding to fill grain to be honest. I've always felt it tended to fill the figured grain and decreases the chatoyance of some otherwise beautiful wood surfaces... it takes longer, but using your final finish to fill or slapping on some fresh shellac to fill the pores and sanding back to flat is my preferred method for filling grain where a lot of figure is present in open pored woods.... everybody has their method and this one works for me...
Bob
