particle board benchtop, finish

MDF is a better choice (maybe that's what you mean ...( Medium Density Fiber Board) Chip board is a rough finish -- you can see the larger particles or chips -- and quite soft. Maybe you should get a MDF board and lay it on top -- glue it, screw it or whatever -- then finish it wiht a "floor" style varnish finish.

It worked for me.

willr

Thanks for the reply,

I did not make the top myself, but it is called "engineered wood".. is that another word for MDF? It is a rather smooth finish.

Probably. MDF is the same color as cardboard FWIW.

Since there is no point in looking at MDF, particle board or Oriented strand board, why not just paint it? Not that latex stuff, good old-fasioned oil-based paint. Not unlike Oil-based poly, it will take a week or more to approach its final hardness. If it gets beat-up and crappy looking, just recoat it. White may even make it easier to see what you are working on.

-Steve

A piece of hard board screwed to the top of the board works well. I imagine it would be great for electronics. You would not need to finish it and if it gets damaged from the fire you started working on the PM78749898 integrated circuit, you could just pull the screws out, replace the top and keep geeken away(no offense woodworkers are geeks too) . Particle board really soaks up the finish without much surface improvement.

yep.... except after changing 1/4" hardboard ( "masonite" to us old timers) tops on a bench and RAS table, I use double-sided tape to lay it down now... it holds it flat and is easy to pull up and flip (if double sided HB) or replace..

I like to have a light reflective surface so I spray white semi-gloss enamel on the HB before putting it over the MDF..

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

=====>My answer to this problem is to have two workbenches. I have my "dirty" one in the garage for mechanicing and a sheet of 1/4" ply over my woodworking bench. If I have something to work on that sorta falls inbetween, I'll just set up some sawhorses with a piece of 3/4" plywood as a temporary top. TS top makes a handy workbench and storage area!*G*

Leif

I use Minwax Helmsman Urethane Spar Varnish to coat the tops of my work benches. I specifically use the clear gloss and sand with 220, first coat, 320 second coat and 400 or 600 for the third and any successive coats required to have a hard shiny surface that is very durable and resists UV damage from exposure to the sun effectively as well.

Sometimes I use a thinned wash coat that is thinned 30 percent to allow for the first coat to penetrate the raw unfinished mdf, it seems like it makes the whole top stronger and resistant to chipping if a hand tool accidentally gets dropped on the surface. If the surface gets scratched up over time you just lightly sand it with 220 grit on a orbital or a jitterbug sander, wipe down with rag wet with mineral spirits, let dry and coat it again using the process above one or two coats will make it look new. The urethane spar varnish I use drys pretty fast so you need to flow it on fast with a fine brush or a foam pad or else it will leave brush marks if you don't hurry fast enough. regards, Joe.

I have found that Zinzer's white primers oil or water based coat very well dry fast and are almost like melamine when cured. I will use this stuff for final coats to outdoor based wood/mdf cabinets also, it is almost bullet proof and is easy to wash off if it gets smudged on the white surface. Joe.

Tile board...cheap, easy and replaceable.

My router table top is MDF. I followed Pat Warner's advice and "dunked" it in Watco. The MDF sucks up Watco like crazy. Once it dries, you have a pretty wear resistant surface. The top has been used for several years with no obvious signs of wear.

I would rather use Watco than paint because it is much easier to make the top have a smooth surface.

Mark

You need to get away from that latex stuff.