My wife recently purchased a new kitchen table made of rubberwood with a stain and a very light clear coat of something. I would like to add a more durable finish to table. Ideally, it would just be a few more coats of whatever is already on it but I can not find any info. What would be the best way to proceed? Polyurethane? Varnish? Other? Will there be a problem simply applying this over the top of the existing finish?
Any guidence this NG can give me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance,
I have a utility room table that I put a few coats of Minwax Polyurethane on a few years ago. It has been abused a lot, and still looks excellent. I am surprised at how tought that finish is.
On the other hand, I have an antique dinning room table that is shellaced. It is a "repairable" finish, which a lot of people like, but unfortunately, it needs "repaired" about every 6 months.
That probably needs to be sprayed, and is fussy about technique.
If it were mine, and I wanted _durable_, then I'd sand it down and paint it with Rustin's Bar Top, an acid-cure formaldehyde. However that really doesn't like being applied over another finish, so the sanding is necessary.
If you don't know what is on the table now, how do you know that a top coat will be more durable? You could make things worse.
My kitchen table is 24 years old, the dining room table is 30 years old and I don't have a clue what the finish is but they are still in good condition.
This is probably way over the top for most people's needs, but I have had tremendous success with Sikkens Autocryl Clear. (Also available in 330,000 off the shelf colours *G*) It is a 3 part system and is expensive. It must be sprayed. The isocyanates (sp?) in the hardener will kill your ass dead, so bring your own air. Watch those fish eyes... and clean that gun, cuz if you don't, it will turn into one solid chunk of whatever...AMHIKT (a week-old Iwata..still crying..I had finished the job, started talking to a walk-in customer till closing time, turned off the lights, locked the doors, went home....in the middle of the night..it was too late...)
But..the finish? Clear, glass-like, somewhat flexible yet hard as hard gets. I have put that finish on cherry veneer panels, right next to a gas range 20 years ago, it has been hit by splattered bacon fat, hell, even my peasoup hasn't touched it. It has no colour, clear like water and is good enough for Dr. Porsche's team to put on their deformable bumpers. You can also add Sikkens Matting Clear, which gives you infinite control over the sheen. The upside to the cost, is that very little of the applied finish flashes off, so you're left with lots of solids on your project. I often look to the automotive finishing industry for wood finishing solutions.
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