Has anyone had experience with a water protective finish for MDF? I have a work table with an MDF top, and I briefly set a glass of ice tea on it, and the wet spot swelled up. Fortunately, it wasn=92t permanent. I saw that Pat Warner saturated his router table top with Watco. I wonder how that worked out.
I have on hand Watco, Exterior Watco, Waterlox, and several types of varnishes. What would be best? I plan to submerge the top, but I don=92t want water soaking in on contact.
----------------------------------------------------- Has anyone had experience with a water protective finish for MDF? I have a work table with an MDF top, and I briefly set a glass of ice tea on it, and the wet spot swelled up. Fortunately, it wasn?t permanent. I saw that Pat Warner saturated his router table top with Watco. I wonder how that worked out.
I have on hand Watco, Exterior Watco, Waterlox, and several types of varnishes. What would be best? I plan to submerge the top, but I don?t want water soaking in on contact.
Best bet would be covering it with a layer of something else that is less fragile. Any type of protectant or finish that soaks in may weaken the binders in the MDF, and a pinhole in any surface finish will be an achilles heel.
A sheet of Formica (HPL from anybody) is, IMO, one of the better solutions. Most adhesives won't stick to it (depending on the choice of laminate finish ie, the satin-like finish works best), easy to clean, and cheap. Many laminate distributors have discontinued colours that they will sell for cheap. I bought 50 4 x 8 sheets for $8.00 per sheet, which I use as backers for custom laminate countertops. MANY of the mish-mash of colours had a good reason to be discontinued, there's some fugly colours in that pile. A simple painter's razor blade scrapes justabout anything right off. We use it for glue-ups all the time. For some reason Titebond III really sticks to it..... mmmmm
A sheet of Formica (HPL from anybody) is, IMO, one of the better solutions. Most adhesives won't stick to it (depending on the choice of laminate finish ie, the satin-like finish works best), easy to clean, and cheap. Many laminate distributors have discontinued colours that they will sell for cheap. I bought 50 4 x 8 sheets for $8.00 per sheet, which I use as backers for custom laminate countertops. MANY of the mish-mash of colours had a good reason to be discontinued, there's some fugly colours in that pile. A simple painter's razor blade scrapes justabout anything right off. We use it for glue-ups all the time. For some reason Titebond III really sticks to it..... mmmmm
I use a cabinet scraper to remove TBIII from plastic laminate.
On Wed, 9 Dec 2009 20:55:09 -0800 (PST), the infamous " snipped-for-privacy@aol.com" scrawled the following:
I've always loved Waterlox, so I'd use that: 10 handrubbed coats or 4 brushed coats. I much prefer handrubbed to brushed. Use 420 grit between coats if you feel any roughness at all. I handrub two coats the first day, then go to one coat a day at quickest. I really like drying time, even with quick-drying products like Waterlox. More screwed-up finishes have been had from hurrying. None from waiting.
I would let that ring dry out WELL before you sand it and seal it. Otherwise, once it does finally dry out, you'll have a ring dip in the tabletop. A light bulb about 8" off the surface should dry it out in a couple days. Let it cool well before starting, and even though it's not real wood, use a quick wipedown with lacquer thinner or mineral spirits before putting the finish on half an hour later. Again, I wait for the thinner to be completely gone before I start work.
Oh, wait, you said you plan to _submerge_ the top. Forget using MDF for that, -ever-. Any pinhole leak will blow the thing out in 5 minutes.
-- To know what you prefer instead of humbly saying Amen to what the world tells you you ought to prefer, is to have kept your soul alive. -- Robert Louis Stevenson
A sheet of Formica (HPL from anybody) is, IMO, one of the better solutions. Most adhesives won't stick to it (depending on the choice of laminate finish ie, the satin-like finish works best), easy to clean, and cheap. Many laminate distributors have discontinued colours that they will sell for cheap. I bought 50 4 x 8 sheets for $8.00 per sheet, which I use as backers for custom laminate countertops. MANY of the mish-mash of colours had a good reason to be discontinued, there's some fugly colours in that pile. A simple painter's razor blade scrapes justabout anything right off. We use it for glue-ups all the time. For some reason Titebond III really sticks to it..... mmmmm
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