Reply to Jono

Hi Jono, and thanks for your kind remarks.

You raise a few interesting points .

Firstly, I think that when you are flatting the surface in between polishing you say "You are using 320 grit" I think this could be one of your causes for the scratchy lines in the surface why?
Because I think 320 is not fine enough to achieve a smooth surface.

I would suggest that you change to a 1000 grit wet and dry paper, please also use a rubber sanding block as the surface will if new be perfectly flat.

Before you rub the surface down with wet and dry paper, apply some white spirits on cotton wool over the surface as this will act as a lubricant.

Once smooth you must dry off all the remaining white spirits otherwise it will sink into the grain, and leave a whit residue however, it should go once another oil and polishing has taken place.

You say "You have ridges in the finish" Well, I think that when you are sanding down the surface, you are not achieving a good enough surface for staining and polishing and that's perhaps why the ridges are showing up when you apply the polish, and will become more apparent the greater the shine.

I hope that this will be of help to you? If I can be of further assistance don't hesitate to contact me.

Thank you for reading my posts, I very much appreciate it. 

Regards,
Andrew.