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Posted: 10/10/2014 7:46:36 PM EDT
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I just made my workbench and topped it with pine plywood. Do I need to put a finish on it to protect it from solvents? Any recommendations?
Thanks, Dan |
| Polyurethane. Like used on bar tops. Follow directions on can. Spray on is better, but brush on will do the job. LET IT CURE before you start to use it. Big mistake is for it not to be cured, work on it, chemicals strip off coating=you sand and redo. Speaking from experience. |
I am a cabinetmaker by trade, I would look into some of the new finishes they make for shop floors at the least. A better option would be a piece of laminate. Most cabinet shops will have a supply of pieces they aren't going to use and you can get them cheap. I have a 3" thick solid maple butcher block 30" x8ft that I have used for the last 20 years and still looks new, but it isn't for sale. 
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My bench is a solid core door with a 3/4 particle board top.
Finished the top with 4 coats of MinWax Polyurethane. Indestructible, scorched it on one corner welding an aluminum swing arm but otherwise after 7 years it is still as solid as the day I did it. I use a rectangle of peel and stick in/outdoor carpet for the brunt of the working surface. |
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After I built my workbench I put a 1/4" piece of plywood on top and screwed it down around the edges. This allows me to remove and replace the relatively cheap 1/4" plywood top if it becomes dinged/chipped/stained. I have replace it 2 or three times in the last 6 years. |
| I have 3 benches. 1 is 8'x2' and has a 2'x2' "L" at one end, 2nd is 4'x6' that sit in middle of shop, and 3rd one is 8'x2' sitting against opposite wall of first one. All are made of 2" maple chopping block and finished with poly. Bases are 2"x2"x .100" wall steel tubing. They take everything I throw at them and still look great. |
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