This is a similar but more general question to one posted by Morris Dovey.
I'm making a workbench with an MDF top. I'm a little concerned about
eventually ruining it with drops of glue, oil, paint, etc.. Has anyone ever
applied a coat of Polyurethane to the top of MDF? How did it turn out?

Thanks for your help.

Kevin

Slop some Watco on it, and then optionally wax it. Works great.

"klklimes" wrote in message
news:fbOje.23786$796.12475@attbi_s21...
This is a similar but more general question to one posted by Morris Dovey.
I'm making a workbench with an MDF top. I'm a little concerned about
eventually ruining it with drops of glue, oil, paint, etc.. Has anyone
ever applied a coat of Polyurethane to the top of MDF? How did it turn
out?

Poly works well. Does not look any prettier, but it does offer protection.

MDF is amenable to most finishes. Shellac, poly, paint, whatever. It
routs beautifully, to boot! Go for it.

Dave

klklimes wrote:

This is a similar but more general question to one posted by Morris Dovey.
I'm making a workbench with an MDF top. I'm a little concerned about
eventually ruining it with drops of glue, oil, paint, etc.. Has anyone ever
applied a coat of Polyurethane to the top of MDF? How did it turn out?

Thanks for your help.

Kevin

Gotta agree with using the Watco - that really pops the grain.......;-)

Bob S.


"klklimes" wrote in message
news:fbOje.23786$796.12475@attbi_s21...
This is a similar but more general question to one posted by Morris Dovey.
I'm making a workbench with an MDF top. I'm a little concerned about
eventually ruining it with drops of glue, oil, paint, etc.. Has anyone
ever applied a coat of Polyurethane to the top of MDF? How did it turn
out?

Thanks for your help.

Kevin

I have an MDF top workbench also. Lots of stain splotches and glue droplet
stains. I wouldn't consider it ruined... after all, it's a "work bench"

How does "drops of glue, oil, paint, etc" ruin a work bench? Does it double
as a kitchen table for you??



"klklimes" wrote in message
news:fbOje.23786$796.12475@attbi_s21...
This is a similar but more general question to one posted by Morris Dovey.
I'm making a workbench with an MDF top. I'm a little concerned about
eventually ruining it with drops of glue, oil, paint, etc.. Has anyone
ever applied a coat of Polyurethane to the top of MDF? How did it turn
out?

Thanks for your help.

Kevin

My workbench is MDF, covered with 1/4" masonite. When it gets covered
with too many globs of glue, I grab a scraper, knock them off, hit it
with a sander for a few moments, wipe on a coat of shellac, let that
dry, and then apply wax. Now I've got a semi water resistant, SMOOTH
work surface again. Total time: around 6-8 minutes. (I just refinish
the center section where all the glue mess occurs).

Dave

stoutman wrote:

I have an MDF top workbench also. Lots of stain splotches and glue droplet
stains. I wouldn't consider it ruined... after all, it's a "work bench"

How does "drops of glue, oil, paint, etc" ruin a work bench? Does it double
as a kitchen table for you??



"klklimes" wrote in message
news:fbOje.23786$796.12475@attbi_s21...

This is a similar but more general question to one posted by Morris Dovey.
I'm making a workbench with an MDF top. I'm a little concerned about
eventually ruining it with drops of glue, oil, paint, etc.. Has anyone
ever applied a coat of Polyurethane to the top of MDF? How did it turn
out?

Thanks for your help.

Kevin

klklimes wrote:
This is a similar but more general question to one posted by Morris Dovey.
I'm making a workbench with an MDF top. I'm a little concerned about
eventually ruining it with drops of glue, oil, paint, etc.. Has anyone ever
applied a coat of Polyurethane to the top of MDF? How did it turn out?

Why not consider a layer of 1/4" hardboard?

Lower cost, will last longer, simple to replace.

Lew

MDF accepts paint very well.

I use an epoxy product Rustoleum Industrial Mastic 9100 series to
paint all my MDF shop "furniture".

Hard durable no stick finish

Bob

I've done that for several years. With a workbench I want something that dries
quickly, and can be easily restored. Have used both shellac and wb poly, with
the poly convenient as it's more resistant to alcohol and such. Every so often
I run a hand scraper over the top lightly and may sand it down just with a
rotary 220. A coat of wb poly is dry enough in a few hours to scuff sand and
it's ready for a few more months.

A tempered hardboard cover holds up better, but is harder to fix. With MDF I
can easily smooth over any scratches or digs, then recoat it. I've got 1-1/2
MDF with hardwood edging, and its survived glue, oil, paint and pounding.
Gerry

On Sat, 21 May 2005 21:59:39 GMT, "klklimes" wrote:

This is a similar but more general question to one posted by Morris Dovey.
I'm making a workbench with an MDF top. I'm a little concerned about
eventually ruining it with drops of glue, oil, paint, etc.. Has anyone ever
applied a coat of Polyurethane to the top of MDF? How did it turn out?

Thanks for your help.

Kevin

"stoutman" writes:

I have an MDF top workbench also. Lots of stain splotches and glue droplet
stains. I wouldn't consider it ruined... after all, it's a "work bench"

How does "drops of glue, [...]" ruin a work bench? Does it double

By making it uneven, and knocking them off may leave torn out holes,
which by becoming many will also be adverse to working on theat surface.

--
Dr. Juergen Hannappel http://lisa2.physik.uni-bonn.de/~hannappe
Phone: +49 228 73 2447 FAX ... 7869
Physikalisches Institut der Uni Bonn Nussallee 12, D-53115 Bonn, Germany
CERN: Phone: +412276 76461 Fax: ..77930 Bat. 892-R-A13 CH-1211 Geneve 23

On Sun, 22 May 2005 00:56:07 GMT, "stoutman" wrote:

I have an MDF top workbench also. Lots of stain splotches and glue droplet
stains. I wouldn't consider it ruined... after all, it's a "work bench"

I don't mind colour stains on a workbench, but I don't want raised drops
of glue.

MDF is a good workbench top. Coat of hard poly or floor varnish, then
definitely well-buffed wax to stop spilled glue from sticking. You
could even skip the varnish, but get that wax on there.

Thanks to all of you who eased my fears that a coat of Poly wouldn't make
MDF disintegrate. I'll definitely be giving it a try. No, not to keep the
benchtop looking pristine but to keep it smooth and give me a safe place to
park my cold beer (after the tools are locked up of course).

I appreciate all your help.

Kevin

"klklimes" wrote in message
news:fbOje.23786$796.12475@attbi_s21...
This is a similar but more general question to one posted by Morris Dovey.
I'm making a workbench with an MDF top. I'm a little concerned about
eventually ruining it with drops of glue, oil, paint, etc.. Has anyone
ever applied a coat of Polyurethane to the top of MDF? How did it turn
out?

Thanks for your help.

Kevin