On Dec 10, 6:56*am, Phisherman wrote:
On Wed, 9 Dec 2009 20:55:09 -0800 (PST), "

wrote:
Has anyone had experience with a water protective finish for MDF? I
have a work table with an MDF top, and I briefly set a glass of ice
tea on it, and the wet spot swelled up. Fortunately, it wasn’t
permanent. I saw that Pat Warner saturated his router table top with
Watco. I wonder how that worked out.

I have on hand Watco, Exterior Watco, Waterlox, and several types of
varnishes. What would be best? I plan to submerge the top, but I don’t
want water soaking in on contact.

Thanks.
Joel

Maybe a polyurethane varnish, floor paint or apply Formica over the
MDF. *If unprotected wood gets wet, it will swell. *

A sheet of Formica (HPL from anybody) is, IMO, one of the better
solutions. Most adhesives won't stick to it (depending on the choice
of laminate finish ie, the satin-like finish works best), easy to
clean, and cheap. Many laminate distributors have discontinued colours
that they will sell for cheap. I bought 50 4 x 8 sheets for $8.00 per
sheet, which I use as backers for custom laminate countertops. MANY of
the mish-mash of colours had a good reason to be discontinued, there's
some fugly colours in that pile.
A simple painter's razor blade scrapes justabout anything right off.
We use it for glue-ups all the time.
For some reason Titebond III really sticks to it..... mmmmm