Have I messed up my polishing?

[GregShelton]

Hi everyone,

After having applied a good 10 coats of water-based satin polyurethane finish to a selection of different wood species (veneers) in order to practice finishing techniques, I finally summoned up the courage to rub one of them out.
I am at a loss to assess the success of this first attempt as I have no real knowledge of finishing and finish types (hence why I need to learn and practice!) and so I don't know if what I now have is a satin and whether or not I have done the job well enough.
The sample is walnut (European I think) and after applying the 10 coats, I then wet sanded lightly with 320, then 600, then 1000 and finally 2000 grit before adding a final sweep of paste wax and buffing with a pad.
The surface is smooth and feels great but in certain lights and at certain angles I can see feint scratch marks. When I look at it straight on, the only sign there is a finish comes in the form of a darker hue and the sample only shows a bit of shine when looked at from a slanted angle. Is that what a satin should look like or do I need to try again?
(PS - also, there are terrible witness lines all around the edges from where I have sanded with excess enthusiasm but I'm only just starting out right?!)

 

[custard]

Ten coats of water based poly is about six or seven too many. If you've got scratch lines it's because you either raced through the coarser grits too fast without removing all traces of deeper scratches at each stage, or you didn't vac off, tack rag off, or blow off the grit residue at each stage and contaminated later sanding. Walnut is an open grained species and needs grain filling for a mirror surface. Water based poly is an "okay" finish, it's quick and easy and for pale timbers doesn't yellow the surface. But it's a bit soft for my liking (try the thumb nail test), especially matt or satin versions because of the flattening agents.

 

[GregShelton]

Thanks Custard, great reply. Will try rubbing out the remaining samples again with more care and I will also start experimenting with other finish types.