I just wanted to post about what I've been using to prepare wood before applying a finish. I've used this on maple gunstocks and achieved a deep mirror finish - not at all plastic. It's called 'raising the grain'.

Regardless of how smooth you've sanded wood, wood fibers have been mashed down during sanding. To really get the finish smooth, these fibers need to be raised and cut off. This is done with water or alcohol. Alcohol dries faster, but I feel that water does a better job.

After sanding to your desired grit (I go to 600), apply water to the wood and let it dry. I apply water by wetting my hand and rubbing the wood. This will expand and 'raise' the mashed fibers and the wood will feel very rough. Sand the wood again with the same finish grit and reapply water. As you continue to do this, you'll find the wood getting smoother after each wetting. Usually 3-4 wetting/sanding cycles is good.

If you've been going directly from final sanding to finishing, I think you'll find this extra step will really improve the final finish.

Tom