Best finish for Dining table???

My dining room table is finished with "Behlen's Rock Hard Table Top Varnish" and it has held up very well. I made the table about 8 years ago. This web page talks about this finish:

If you do not want an amber finish (almost all traditional varnishes will be amber colored) then you might want to look into some of the new water-based finishes as well as lacquer, but those are outside my realm of experience so I can't offer any advice in that area.

- Bruce

Polyurethane is about the toughest. After the last coat resist the temptation to put the table into use--wait a month or two for the poly to fully harden then apply a wax.

Could someone please explain the purpose of applying a wax over a polyurethane finish. Also what type of wax?

Graham

I have a teak table, and kids. The polyurethane finish is the way to go. It was finished when the first was born, and its hanging in after 9 yrs.

It is the main table in the house

I wouldn't use polyurethane. It's a bit yellowish, but mainly because there's one finish that's even harder. Acid-cure formaldehyde resins are used for flooring and also for bars and tables. It's a two pack paint you mix before use (not an epoxy or isocyanate though).

Easy to work with, although they do smell disgusting during application. They harden and lose the smell completely within a few hours.

Rustin's "Bar Top" would be a UK brand. Look for "Plastic Coating" too.

As I understand it, wax is used as protection from mechanical wear. The wax coating(s) provide a slipery surface, so that plates, silverware, or other hard objects will slide over the surface of the table, instead of digging into the finish. Wax does not protect the finish against light, liquid, or heat.

Curt Blood

Polyurethane is about the toughest. After the last coat resist the

I disagree with your assertion that poly is the "toughest". I give that label to C-V. Of course it isn't much fun dealing with Xylene fumes...

David

David

Phisherman wrote:

Paste wax. You put it on, let it dry a bit, and then buff it, and it looks really nice (very high gloss) Might be a little redundant with poly, but I've never tried the two together.