Ultra durable finish for dining table?

[David Kuzdrall]

I am building a large, round dining table from hard maple and will need to select an easy to apply finish that will stand up to some abuse...scratch resistant, water and alcohol resistant, improper cleaner resistant, etc...

I am leaning toward waterlox original sealer/finish as I have used it before on a coffee table that gets abused yet still looks new but that data point is only a year old and no one has spilled anything more than water on it so I still don't really know how it stands up to various solvents.

is waterlox original my best choice for overall durability and chemical resistance or should I look at other options?

thx

[Scott Holmes]

Waterlox is an excellent varnish and should hold up very well. Poly varnish is tougher (also softer) than Waterlox; harder is better on a table top. The sealer finish is a wiping varnish so it will need many coats to build the appropriate thickness. Original used full strength will build much faster. Sealer/finish is a semi gloss the original is available in gloss and semi gloss. A gloss finish will highlight every flaw; a satin finish will hide most flaws.

[Mike Henderson]

A pre-catalyzed lacquer would work well and be very tough.

Mike

[David Kuzdrall]

Waterlox is an excellent varnish and should hold up very well. Poly varnish is tougher (also softer) than Waterlox; harder is better on a table top. The sealer finish is a wiping varnish so it will need many coats to build the appropriate thickness. Original used full strength will build much faster. Sealer/finish is a semi gloss the original is available in gloss and semi gloss. A gloss finish will highlight every flaw; a satin finish will hide most flaws.

will the original used full strength be more difficult to apply with its (assumed) higher resin concentration or does it level and flow just as well...I will be covering 64" dia round table top?

[John TenEyck]

I once tried to apply Arm-R-Seal on a round table about the same size as yours. I consider myself pretty experienced applying that stuff on large pieces, but try as I might I could not get all the way across that top w/o leaving streaks here and there. I suppose I could have just built up enough coats that I could have rubbed it out in the traditional way to get a glass smooth top, but I ended up stripping it all off and spraying it with General Finishes WB EnduroVar. It looks great. In my own non scientific testing EnduroVar tested on par with solvent based varnishes for durability and chemical resistance, in fact, better than some. EnduroVar is pretty well fully cured in a week; oil based varnishes will take a month or more.

John

[Kent A Bathurst]

will the original used full strength be more difficult to apply with its (assumed) higher resin concentration or does it level and flow just as well...I will be covering 64" dia round table top?

AFAIK, the basic approach to the mandated lower VOC levels was reduce thinner, increase viscosity, and label "Do Not Thin".

Which does not mean don't thin - it means the lawyers got the label to the right place for compliance.

Me - I always take out-of-the-can and thin it by a slurp or so - maybe 5%. Then, load the brush and watch it flow off the tip - add more if needed. Then, start brushing, and if it isn't flowing how I want, I will add a bit more.

A little goes a long way - ESPECIALLY in the "add a bit more" bits - those adjustments move the needle without much volume - my game is simply to get it where it is flowing nice and smooth onto the surface.

[David Kuzdrall]

AFAIK, the basic approach to the mandated lower VOC levels was reduce thinner, increase viscosity, and label "Do Not Thin".

Which does not mean don't thin - it means the lawyers got the label to the right place for compliance.

Me - I always take out-of-the-can and thin it by a slurp or so - maybe 5%. Then, load the brush and watch it flow off the tip - add more if needed. Then, start brushing, and if it isn't flowing how I want, I will add a bit more.

A little goes a long way - ESPECIALLY in the "add a bit more" bits - those adjustments move the needle without much volume - my game is simply to get it where it is flowing nice and smooth onto the surface.

With quite a variety of waterlox versions out there, which one is the "full strength"...just the low VOC version?

[Kent A Bathurst]

With quite a variety of waterlox versions out there, which one is the "full strength"...just the low VOC version?

Good question - I was not very clear...

I am talking about Waterlox Original - not the low VOC version. I still do it the way I described above. I assume the Low VOC version requires the same, maybe more so. Did not realize until I just checked it out that they say "don't mix original and low VOC" so they obviously made other changes in their formulation - I have not used it. Was speaking in generalities, and got hoist on that petard - sorry.

I assume the sealer version is thinned down. I have also used a small amount of satin, but only as the very-very last coat, wiped on, so thinned waaay down.. Did this for a client that wanted satin finish. The rest was the Original, thineed as noted above.

Regardless of the specific product [W'lox or other] my general point is the same - If it isn't flowing smoothly for you, your brush, your techinque, and [in my case] your skills and expertise - put in a little thinner, a bit at a time, until it gets the point where it flows easily for you. You haven't given up anything in the big picture, you have simply made it easier to get a nice finish.