Oscar,
I would not use steel wool for anything. If you do not get it all cleaned off the blank it will rust under some finishes.
Here is the Deft method I use for what it is worth. Everyone will have their own way of doing things and you may adopt parts of what everyone else does and come up with your own.
1) I sand on the lowest speed from 150 through 12,000 micromesh. I wipe with a cloth and sometimes Laq thinner or mineral spirits between grits.
2) If it is an open grain wood I then use 1 coat of sanding sealer. (I do not always want the grain filled. I like a little bit of grain showing) Let the sanding sealer dry for at least 3 hours.
3) Once the sanding sealer is dry even it out by sanding from 3200mm to 12000mm and then wipe the blank down.
4) I spray the Deft on the blanks while they are still on the mandrel and lathe. Spray the blank, rotate the hand wheel and spray again repeat until the blank is covered. I have found that thin coats work best. If you miss a spot or it does not look like you got enough on the blank don't worry, you will get it on the next coat. If you try to coat the spot you missed you may get runs or an extra thick spot.
5) Once the blank is coated I turn the hand wheel slowly until the thinner flashes off (about 1-2 minutes). Once the thinner has flashed off you can turn on the lathe at its slowest speed to help it dry faster or just let it dry for a few hours.
6) Once the blank has dried for an hour or two lightly sand from 3200mm to 12000mm wipe the blank with a cloth and repeat step 5. I will put on 3 coats this way and then let it dry for 24 hrs.
7) After 24 hours I will repeat step 5 one or two more times depending on how the blank is looking. I then take the blanks to the warmest part of my house and let them sit for a 5-7 days or until I can no longer smell the laq on the blanks.
8) Put the blanks back on the lathe and sand from 3200mm - 12000mm. This will even everything out and give it a nice gloss finish. I then put on two coats of TSW (Trade Secrets for Wood. Thanks Lou!) followed by two coats of Ren wax.
It sounds like a lot but it goes fast. The hardest part is being patient during the time that the laq is curing. You can get it all buffed out sooner but it has cause me some problems in the past. I now wait until it is cured before I buff it out.
Good luck!
Ryan
]