Has anyone tryed wet rubbing vanish?
I cant see why not but have never tryed as I have always only sanded dry on exterior timbers and just the occasional interior vanish with dry sand paper.
I guess I will find out soon when I move onto my new Pod.
I haven't tried it (and cant see why you cannot), but cannot see why you would.....
I am curious to what you are thinking for wanting to wet sand varnish......
EDIT: I think I may be on a different page then you 
Have a read of this if you haven't already done so www.antiquerestorers.com/Articles/SAL/rub.htm
Having read this, I realised it is a finish I have done (on a homemade coffee table). It was a long, tedious process that looked great when finished. I am not sure if I would put the time and effort in for exterior use. It would look a treat, but I don't think it would make the varnish last any longer.
Have a good read of the link above. It does make mention that standard varnish is hard to rub.....
Select to expand quoteToph said..
Have a read of this if you haven't already done so www.antiquerestorers.com/Articles/SAL/rub.htm
Having read this, I realised it is a finish I have done (on a homemade coffee table). It was a long, tedious process that looked great when finished. I am not sure if I would put the time and effort in for exterior use. It would look a treat, but I don't think it would make the varnish last any longer.
Have a good read of the link above. It does make mention that standard varnish is hard to rub.....
Because the brush marks in the interior timber work are a discrace! The timber is a real show piece. As I will be living aboard I do not want dust and crap going everywhere so if I could sand it wet I could do a section at a time with out making dust.
If the varnish is old and hard enough I can't see why it would not work.
On interior work in the past I used Wattyl Instant Estapol Satin with about 5% linseed oil mixed in plus a little bit of turps. It takes longer to cure but makes the coating very tough and glosses the clear just enough to give it a beautiful glow.
So you are are rubbing the interior... I was asuming you where doing the outside...
In that case, it would still be a long and tedious process that would would be worth the time and effort 
just the interior Toph .....a few beers over a few nights with a bucket of 120 grit wet rub should do the trick! The only Timber on deck is a teak toe rail....have not been a fan of teak but the quality of workmanship is superior so I will just have to deal with it!
I have spent many hours wet sanding sailing dinghy decks over the years. These were always done outside of course with a bucket of water with some soap added. For your interior I would recommend a bucket of water and sponge to clean up and use a spray bottle when sanding. Check out youtube for spraying cars and preparation. Varnish work is just the same.
If you look at the saloon table you will see what I'm talking about. Maybe it was just my first impressions but I guess at the end of the day I'm a perfectionist and I need the finest finishes possible.
It depends on what finish you desire....120 grit is pretty coarse, good for flattening the surface, but the end result will be a matt finish.
if you are looking for high gloss 120 to flatten, 400 then 800-1200....then car polish.
or if varnish is good, just a bit dull - skip all the sandpaper... just a cutting polish.
I would do a test with polish first, if it gives required result... it won't damage much. Starting with sandpaper, and not getting required result means there not much varnish cover left.
The second photo looks like there are brush marks on the table. It might take several coats of varnish to get a flat smooth finish. Wet sand between coats with 240. Real varnish sprayed preferably or experiment with a foam pad. Good Chinese synthetic brush and a thick coat applied fast is all I use in my interior.
