Finish for mdf work surface

[Jeff Bartley]

My TS outfeed 'bench' is mdf and I usually re-coat it whenever I have a little bit of finish left over. I use mostly wipe-on finishes and now have layers of sketches, scribbled notes etc. buried within the finish. There's even the old miter slots from switching TS's (I simply filled in the old slots and re-routed new ones to match the new saw).
For long term protection epoxy is probably best but products like West System aren't cheap; poly is probably the best balance between cost/protection. I use whatever's left over because I'm not super concerned with the surface and I like to be able to draw on it.

[Howie French]

on my MDF router table top... multiple soakings of BLO, then wax.
no complaints.

[Michael Heffernan]

I use a tung oil finish, 2 or three coats, finished with a couple coats of paste wax. I freshen the tops up with wax when needed.
The oil looks blotchy when first applied and soaks in quickly. Make sure you flood the top with the oil and let is soak in evenly. (I use tung oil finish because it's what I have on hand in my shop, but BLO works just as well)

[Leo Graywacz]

I use shellac. It resists glue very well. If you get it on it and don't wipe it off, after it dries it will just pop off with a slight swipe of a putty knife.

Scratches? What is the worry about scratches on a MDF workbench? Scratch it, screw it, bang it pound it. Its about $20 and it will last a few years of good abuse. If you break it, replace it.

[Bill Blackburn]

call me lazy as hell I guess but I just always use tempered hardboard attached with double sided tape and leave it alone. Gets all chewed up I flip it off and toss on a new one. Glue and paint come off easy with a razor blade

Never had much luck with mdf with any kind of finish on it and that includes heavy poly coats - a lot of work IMO for something I can just take off and replace in minutes. Lots of ideas above and all work but to me this is the easiest and cleanest way to deal with it at my place anyway

[Prashun Patel]

call me lazy as hell I guess but I just always use tempered hardboard attached with double sided tape and leave it alone.

Gotcha beat: I don't even tape it. my edge band is proud 1/4" and holds it in.

I just 'finished' my son's workbench with some gellified waterlox. Worked great! If you really wanna finish a bench, use whatever you have on hand. I've used everything from BLO to wax to shellac to poly to polycrylic to old waterlox to PAINT. It all works fine for a bench.

[Bill Blackburn]

You win!

Where do I send the dollar?

[glenn bradley]

You win!

Where do I send the dollar?

I just blew coffee. That one got me .

[Glen Butler]

I vote for poly and that is what I did with mine. I just got the cheapest thing I could find at the borg. Laid a modest coat, sanded, and then laid down a heavy coat. Wood glue peels right off. Gorilla Glue does not - DAMHIKT.

[Leo Graywacz]

A good coat of wax might help you out with that problem

[Jason White]

I just used some leftover varathane floor poly thinned with mineral spirits and wiped on each coat with a rag. The mdf is now tough as nails.

I am building a shop table that will have an mdf top. What finish can I put on it to protect against glue and paint? Also, this surface will have my cms, planer and drill press on it - and they will be slid around depending on what I am using. So something that will take the abuse of those heavy tools sliding around would be great. Thanks