Hey.

I have made my router table top of MDF. What should I treat it with? Enamel
paint, wax? Any suggestion?

May-Brith from Norway.

Thu, Oct 12, 2006, 8:45am (EDT+6)
(May-Brith*Nilsen) doth queryeth:
Hey.
I have made my router table top of MDF. What should I treat it with?
Enamel paint, wax? Any suggestion?

Personally, I'd say go with whichever pleases you - it's your
router table, you made it, the only one whose opinion counts is you.
It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks about the way it's fiished.

Mine is made out of some rather ice plywood. I don't have any
finish on it at all. But if I were to put a finish on it, I'd probably
go with paste wax. Or, if I thought it would work better painted, I'd
paint it in a heartbeat - probably yellow.



JOAT
It's not hard, if you get your mind right.
- Granny Weatherwax

"J T" skrev i melding
...
Thu, Oct 12, 2006, 8:45am (EDT+6)
(May-Brith Nilsen) doth queryeth:
Hey.
I have made my router table top of MDF. What should I treat it with?
Enamel paint, wax? Any suggestion?

Personally, I'd say go with whichever pleases you - it's your
router table, you made it, the only one whose opinion counts is you.
It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks about the way it's fiished.

Mine is made out of some rather ice plywood. I don't have any
finish on it at all. But if I were to put a finish on it, I'd probably
go with paste wax. Or, if I thought it would work better painted, I'd
paint it in a heartbeat - probably yellow.



JOAT
It's not hard, if you get your mind right.
- Granny Weatherwax

It was more a question on what is smooth and durable enough.

May-Brith from Norway

Thu, Oct 12, 2006, 4:39pm (EDT+6)
(May-Brith*Nilsen) doth sayeth:
It was more a question on what is smooth and durable enough.

Ah. OK, in that case my previous router table top was unfinished,
no wax, nothing, and served well for maybe 5 years. I made the present
top not so long ago, only because of changineg needs, not because of any
problem with durability or smoothness. It's unfinished plywood, and
will stay that way. I have had no pblems with smoothness or durability
on my previous top, and anticipae none on this top..



JOAT
It's not hard, if you get your mind right.
- Granny Weatherwax

"May-Brith Nilsen" wrote in
:

Hey.

I have made my router table top of MDF. What should I treat it with?
Enamel paint, wax? Any suggestion?

May-Brith from Norway.



When I use MDF for jigs I finish them with shellac followed by paste wax.
For MDF shop cabinets I prime them with an oil-based primer followed by a
coat or two of spray enamel.
I have used polyurethane varnish on MDF (several coats) with good results
too.
Hank from NY

On Thu, 12 Oct 2006 08:16:21 -0400, J T wrote:

Mine is made out of some rather ice plywood. I don't have any
finish on it at all. But if I were to put a finish on it, I'd probably
go with paste wax. Or, if I thought it would work better painted, I'd
paint it in a heartbeat - probably yellow.


Probably for about the same reason I paint my shop-built stuff purple.
It's so ugly that no one is tempted to borrow it.

Bill

May-Brith Nilsen wrote:

I have made my router table top of MDF. What should I treat it with? Enamel
paint, wax? Any suggestion?

I followed the path of least resistance, using a sink cutout in
laminate.
It worked, but clamping guide boards was a pain, because the textured
surface was slippery (as other posters have noted).

So, I coarse-sanded it to give it some tooth. A C-clamp (aka G-cramp)
now
holds a fence on just fine.

So, if I used MDF, I'd finish the top with PVA adhesive, at least
around the edges.
But I've also glued sandpaper onto jig surfaces...

--- yet another weekend woodwright