My office has a largish conference table approx. 4 feet x 12 feet. We got a "deal" on this for the low, low price of $6000. The bulk of the table is particleboard. (I was not consulted on this purchase). When I took a cursory look at the top, it looked like a plastic laminate of some kind with a faux wood grain. Well, I got an email from the boss today saying that someone had spilled coffee on it today and when they wiped it up, the area that was spilled on is now duller than the rest of the table. One of the resident geniuses told the owner that we should apply a "urethane" finish. Now, I suppose it's possible that the top is a wood veneer of some kind, but it just didn't feel like it to me...it felt like laminate. OTOH, if it was laminate, I wouldn't expect coffee to have any effect, unless that's some powerful strong coffee. Can anyone think of a way of telling for sure what the surface is? I don't think I'll be allowed to take a core sample. If it is, in fact, veneer, then poly might be the way to go. If it is laminate, then I don't know what to do or why the finish looks dull. As our resident woodworking expert (that's frightening), I've been asked to take a look at it.
todd