Furniture, Wood and Cabinetry Finishing - Best finish for dinning chairs

I'm new to this forum, and I really need your help, I am refinishing a dinning room set. I am currently working on the chairs, I stripped the old finish, sanded to the bare wood, applied the Minwax wood conditioner followed with Minwax mahogany stain, applied 5 coats of Varathane gloss finish, I realized that after each coat there were brush marks and all kind of bumps and lumps which I sanded before applying the next coat, I read an article about Rubbing Out Wood Finishes and follow the instructions there, all the wet sanding was fine until I got to the point of polishing which I find very hard to do it by hand and I got a polishing pad and attached to a drill, but still I don’t get the nice even gloss I still see the sanding marks , BTW I sanded as far as 1000 grit and use Meguiars rubbing compound,. Another problem I am seen is in the joints there is some kind of accumulation of the finish so I don’t get a real sharp corner how can I avoid this from happening. I am not completely happy with the results and I wonder what I am doing wrong, how can I get a nice finish mainly on chairs? May be another finish product that is good for heavy use furniture? Can some one give me advise on what to use and how.
Thank you
Iraida

Iraida,
I know where you're coming from! I've always found that oil base poyurethanes straight from the can are usually too thick.
I always thin them with 25 to even 50 percent mineral spirits. This way they will level out quicker and not leave any brush marks. Once an area is brushed on, do not touch with the brush again. Either way, they have a tendancy to run and accumulate in certan areas. But by thinning, the problem will be lessened. Sand lightly with about 400 grit between coats and tack before applying the next coat. A more dust-free area is also beneficial.
A gloss finish souldn't need any rubbing out or polishing.
A final coat of gloss could be sprayed, at least on the backs and seats.
fred

Hi Fred:

Thanks for your reply, I just did that, I thinned 50/50 and it seems to work fine on scrap pice of wood, I'll see now what happend when I do the chairs.

I appreciate you your help.
Iraida