Best Epoxy for a Bench Top?

[Boyd]

I'm ready to stain and epoxy my bench top, but have no clue which material/brand to use. Oh, and I should state that my idea of "best" actually means, "easiest to apply with good results".

Also, I'm sure some of you will try and talk me into covering it with metal or something, but I'm really set on a stained top. I like the "worn" look.

 

[Jack Olsen]

I used an opaque stain, followed by three coats of marine varnish. I have no idea if that was the best way to do it, but it's been holding up just fine.

 

[premierplayer]

http://www.lastnlast.com/ZipGuardWoodFinish.php

450 VOC
THE toughest urethane I have encountered

Oh yeah, your bench top looks very well made, nice job.

And Jack's place, well..., if it's good enough for..., you get the picture.
A Valspar or equivalent should work well for you too.

 

[Boyd]

I like that look. Where did you get the marine varnish?

 

[z28toz06]

I would keep it light. Easier to find small parts when working.

Olsen, what part number/ manufacturer is that tool box under the cabinet?

 

[jake00]

I used hardwood floor finish on mine.

 

[captpfb]

You might want to look at WEST (wood epoxy saturation Technic)@west marine- It's a marine grade epoxy for boat building Great stuff!!

 

[Jack Olsen]

I like that look. Where did you get the marine varnish?

It's McCloskey Man O' War Spar Marine Varnish with a satin finish. I got it at the local hardware store.

I would keep it light. Easier to find small parts when working.

Olsen, what part number/ manufacturer is that tool box under the cabinet?

It's true: light is better for finding stuff you drop. I wanted a particular look, though.

The box is a Harbor Freight, but I painted it to match my existing Craftsman boxes.

 

[trainer]

You might want to look at WEST (wood epoxy saturation Technic)@west marine- It's a marine grade epoxy for boat building Great stuff!!

I'm currently building a cedar/ epoxy canoe using Raka epoxy. It was less than half of what WEST would have cost and it arrived from florida (to Canada) in less than a week.

They have table top epoxy listed on thier website for $60 a gallon.
http://raka.com/epoxy_kits.html

 

[rocketman]

West Systems is great quality and pretty readily available in the gallons.

 

[scbird94]

I used a two part stuff made for bar tops- its THICK. Even put a cool wix poster under the stuff so it looks like a plate of glass ontop of my bench. Really shines, cleans easy, holds up well.

If it gets scratched i can take some rubbing compound and polish it out, could even buff it to a shine if you wanted i suppose. Seriosly a 1/4 inch thick layer of clear shiny stuff on my hardwood top

 

[Boyd]

Cool. What was the product and where did you get it?

 

[dfndr]

Built my bench like you with nice grade of 1/2 plywood laminated 3 thick. Used Spar varnish without stain. I like the color but I did a crappy job with a cheapo brush. Not smooth and somewhat soft. Three coats. I highly recommend a good brush if you use this varnish. Mine will so for me now. It's not perfect--it's a workbench! Rick

 

[Brandon_K]

I used an opaque stain, followed by three coats of marine varnish. I have no idea if that was the best way to do it, but it's been holding up just fine.

Is that ceramic tile? Looks really nice! I know sure as **** though, I would be rebuilding a transfer case or the like, drop the tail shaft housing and end up cracking a tile, probably the day it was installed no less.

 

[Jack Olsen]

Yep. Ceramic tile. .68/sf. So far, it's held up to a lot of abuse.

 

[Boyd]

Over Memorial Day weekend I was able to pull the top off the bench. I cleaned up the edges, routed the front and two sides with a 3/8ths round over bit, filled the screw holes with stainable putty, and stained and poly'd it. I love how it turned out. I'm sure it won't be this pretty for long, it is a workbench after all. My plan is to use the **** out of it, but clean it up from time to time and hopefully it ends up looking like a vintage piece.

I used Cabot Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner, Sherwin-Williams Pecan oil base stain, and 5 coats of MinWax HD Oil Base Polyurethane, sanded with 320 between each coat.

 

[Jack Olsen]

Well-- I don't think I've ever seen plywood get treated so well. It looks good with the black steel.

 

[dfndr]

Looks great. Very nice job. I keep some cut up corrogated cardboard box flat sheets on the floor at the end of the bench. When using something wet or something that will leave marks I just put the cardboard on the bench and then toss it. Works great and havn't had to touch up the bench yet. Rick