what is an easy but durable finish to use for a coffee table?

[Adam Herd]

I am building a coffee table for some friends. My friends have a house on a college campus and the table will be going in the basement. There is a high possibility the table will take some abuse i.e being ran into, things dropped on, feet on the table, but most commonly beer, liquor and other drinks either being spilled on it or dripped on it. What would be the best finish to use to protect against the abuse but also be easy to be cleaned?

[Jamie Buxton]

Varnish. It is pretty much the most durable finish you can apply in a home shop.

[Doug Hepler]

Adam,

It's a simple question, but there is no simple answer. I agree with Jamie. Varnish is the most durable finish you can apply in a home workshop. How to apply it, and what kind of varnish is another set of issues. The answer depends on your skill level and what you want to finished piece to look like. If you want to brush on varnish, seriously consider Minwax Polycrylic. If finishes hard, builds well and dries quickly. Cleanup is with water.

I think the easiest oil-based finish to apply is a "Danish Oil" like Watco, which is an oil/varnish blend. This is a mixture of a drying oil, like boiled linseed oil, and varnish. It's easy to apply and is probably your best choice in an oil based finish. But oil/varnish blends do not build well. Next are wiping varnishes. These are varnishes that are diluted with thinners. They contain about 1/5 as much solids as regular varnish. You'd want to wipe on at least 3 coats. Finally there is just plain varnish, except it comes in both solvent based and water based varieties.

Avoid spray-can lacquer (actually, all home-hobby lacquer). Most of it will stink for weeks or months, and you will really notice it in a basement. Also, although tinted varnish sounds like a great idea (stain and varnish in one step) it is actually difficult to get the color even because every variation in the thickness of your coat will show up as a darker color.

For more information, see Flexner's books on finishing. I also invite you to see Chapter 32 in my book

Doug

[andy bessette]

Varathane.

[roger wiegand]

Arm-R-Seal is an easy and good looking wipe on varnish that stands up to a fair amount of abuse. It's easier to get a flat, defect-free surface with it vs a brush-on product, though it takes a couple more coats. I'm assuming you don't want a high gloss finish.

To withstand standing liquids including those with alcohol you probably want to go for a brush-on polyurethane or even a clear epoxy. If you are set up to spray I understand conversion varnishes can be very tough.

[Lee Schierer]

I would recommend Deft Clear Wood finish. It is easy to apply just brush it on. Apply several wet coats. It is alcohol resistant. If the surface gets scratched you can lightly sand the surface and apply another coat or two. The new coats will bond to the previous coats. You can was the surface with Johnson's paste was and clean up by applying new wax.

I've used this finish for years and most pieces are still in use 25_30 years later.

[Bill Adamsen]

Most marine varnishes are easy (brush), forgiving and very liquid resistant. Roger is recommending the arm-r-seal and I have had very good luck with General Finishes hough I have never tried that. Plus it comes in a variety of sheens. Let us know what you choose and how it works.

[Bill McNiel]

Waterlox OSF. I use it on most every table or surface that will experience similar use. Never had a complaint or failure.