wrote:
Hello All,

I just completed my new workbench and I thingk that it turned out
pretty good. You can see it he

http://www.arealnice.com/shop/

Very nice. Post another pic once you finish it!

I am open to suggestions on what finish to apply.

No Finish At All - Some folks may wonder why you'd want to put anything
on there at all, what with it being a work surface and likely to be
dinged, dented and scratched. I say you really, really want some sort
of finish that will repel stains, retard the rate of moisture transfer
and, most importantly, make it easy to pop off glue drips. Plus, the
aesthetics of the bench will be improved by adding a finish.

Polyurethane - Good for all the above reasons, but some folks say that
since benches get scratched all the time that poly isn't your best
choice. Poly doesn't handle the daily wear and tear as well as some of
the other finishes available and is more diificult to bring back to a
smooth coat when you go to recoat it. I've read that everyone needs a
bench, if only to provide a level surface upon which to set your coffee
while scratching your head. Given this, poly will best repel the
inevitable mug rings!

Shellac - This one gets mentioned from time to time. Not as good with
the rings, but it's "easier" to repair than poly because each
subsequent refinishing melts in with the previous coat.

Lacquer - Same as above? Where the hell'd I put my Flexner....

Oil - tung oil, Danish oil, linseed oil, etc... Lots of choices here,
and this (alone and in combination with wax) is probably the most
recommended finish out there. You sacrifice a bit of moisture
protection, but the big plus is that it's not so much a top coat as one
that "penetrates" into the surface a bit. When the top gets scratched
too much for you it's a simple matter to put another on top. Just
scrape it lightly and buff in another coat.

Wax - I just saw beeswax melted into mineral oil recommended. I'm
losing steam here.

Varnish - mixed with your favorite oil, highly and freqently
recommended. Boiled Linseed oil, varnish and mineral spirits mixed
together in a Secret Formula is probably the single most recommended
bench finish I've seen. Put a couple of coats on it and then buff on a
coat of furniture (paste) wax. Done.

JP
**************************
Masonite, anyone?

"Jay Pique" wrote:


wrote:
Hello All,

I just completed my new workbench and I thingk that it turned out
pretty good. You can see it he

http://www.arealnice.com/shop/

Very nice. Post another pic once you finish it!

I am open to suggestions on what finish to apply.

Jay has done a good job of laying out the alternatives, so I'll just
intersperse comments in his post.
No Finish At All - Some folks may wonder why you'd want to put anything
on there at all, what with it being a work surface and likely to be
dinged, dented and scratched. I say you really, really want some sort
of finish that will repel stains, retard the rate of moisture transfer
and, most importantly, make it easy to pop off glue drips. Plus, the
aesthetics of the bench will be improved by adding a finish.
If this bench will be an assembly bench as well as a bench for
preparing stock and cutting joinery, the ability to remove excess glue
is an issue. If you have a separate assembly bench, forget that
requirement.

Polyurethane - Good for all the above reasons, but some folks say that
since benches get scratched all the time that poly isn't your best
choice. Poly doesn't handle the daily wear and tear as well as some of
the other finishes available and is more diificult to bring back to a
smooth coat when you go to recoat it. I've read that everyone needs a
bench, if only to provide a level surface upon which to set your coffee
while scratching your head. Given this, poly will best repel the
inevitable mug rings!
All good points. I rejected it because of the inability to easily
repair/refresh the finish.

Shellac - This one gets mentioned from time to time. Not as good with
the rings, but it's "easier" to repair than poly because each
subsequent refinishing melts in with the previous coat.
My all-time favorite finish, but not for a bench. My assembly bench (a
solid-core door on a dimension lumber base) is finished with shellac
and a coat of wax. It is great for popping off glue drips, and is
easily refreshed. But as a worktop (as I was using it before building
my bench) it has a major flaw--this is as close as you will get in the
shop to a frictionless surface. I found that unpleasant to work on.

Lacquer - Same as above? Where the hell'd I put my Flexner....

Oil - tung oil, Danish oil, linseed oil, etc... Lots of choices here,
and this (alone and in combination with wax) is probably the most
recommended finish out there. You sacrifice a bit of moisture
protection, but the big plus is that it's not so much a top coat as one
that "penetrates" into the surface a bit. When the top gets scratched
too much for you it's a simple matter to put another on top. Just
scrape it lightly and buff in another coat.
I ended up using pure tung oil, primarily because the smell (or lack
thereof) would cause less noise upstairs than would BLO. Slower
drying, though. used the old formula of once a day for a week, once a
week for a month, once a month for a year, and once a year thereafter.

Wax - I just saw beeswax melted into mineral oil recommended. I'm
losing steam here.

Varnish - mixed with your favorite oil, highly and freqently
recommended. Boiled Linseed oil, varnish and mineral spirits mixed
together in a Secret Formula is probably the single most recommended
bench finish I've seen. Put a couple of coats on it and then buff on a
coat of furniture (paste) wax. Done.

JP
**************************
Masonite, anyone?

--
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