Dining table finish that won't mark easily

[tony2096]

Hi,

I finished my blackwood dining table with wipe-on poly (5-6 coats) and it looked great at the start but it hasn't stood up to the children's homework being written on it (i.e. pressing through the paper onto the surface has left indentations) and after 6 months there are lots of doodles and words visibly etched in the surface. I don't want to have to treat it with super care (eg covering it with a cloth) so I'm thinking of redoing the finish by sanding back and trying again with something more hardwearing - any suggestions? I thought poly would be nice and hard but I tried three coats on a sample and it still marked quite easily...is that because of the blackwood? Or maybe I need to leave the poly longer than 24 hours. The poly I tried was some old gloss that I had in the shed...don't like the shiny plastic-looking finish so I'd use a semi-gloss if I had another go but I'm not going to bother if it isn't any better.

Ideas?

Tony

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[DomAU]

Hi Tony,

Nice table. Not sure about finish, but I was wondering how long it's been since you finished the table? Did you do anything to prevent expansion and contraction of the table top from ruining your corner mitre-joints / edging strips? Are the end pieces just glued directly to the end-grain of the top?

[tony2096]

Hi Tony,

Nice table. Not sure about finish, but I was wondering how long it's been since you finished the table? Did you do anything to prevent expansion and contraction of the table top from ruining your corner mitre-joints / edging strips? Are the end pieces just glued directly to the end-grain of the top?

The table is 18 months old now. There are no mitre joints or edging strips - the top is simply 4 pieces of blackwood butt jointed together with PVA and then I used a router to get the angled finish. I couldn't work out how to use any sort of veneering or side strips so ended up making it out of solid timber. There has been no problem with any joints opening up but then the top is pretty thick (38mm). The timber was expensive: I don't have a jointer/thicknesser so I bought it DAR (38mm thick) and the 12m of 200mm width pieces cost over $700. It also ended up being very heavy - needed 2 people to lift the top into the house. The legs were a comparative bargain as I found someone on the north coast of NSW who had some 90mm square pieces he sold me for the legs and they only cost $25 each - needed lots of sanding but they turned out really well.

I also found some nice blackwood chairs to complement the table so could discard the old Freedom black ones you see in the previous photo!

corner.jpg

[DomAU]

Oh, great. I must not have looked close enough at the photo, but at first glance and with the lighting it looked like it had edging around it. I was worried that this would tear itself apart. Looks great.

[Kuffy]

Blackwood is a soft timber. Give the kids some place mats to put under the paper they are drawing on. Otherwise I reckon you are looking at needing a thick bar top epoxy finish.

[ian]

Hi Tony

You could try stripping the finish back and applying a one of the floor finishes.

The two pack ones (Estapol 7008 I think) have a reputation for being glossy and scratchable.

The single pack ones (eg Feast Watson Floor Clear) are said to be more easily repairable than the two pack finishes.


However, I think your better option is to give the kids some large writing mats or a big piece of leather to go under their homework.

[yhprum]

I was going to ask this in new different thread, but found this searching. I have the same problem and want to try one of those clear resin tops you pour over the table top, but don't know what's the trade name/brand is e called. Where could I find this?
Thanks!

[Acco]

but don't know what's the trade name/brand is e called. Where could I find this?
Thanks!

http://glasscoat.com.au/

[ian]

I was going to ask this in new different thread, but found this searching. I have the same problem and want to try one of those clear resin tops you pour over the table top, but don't know what's the trade name/brand is e called. Where could I find this?
Thanks!

Only problem might be that if you don't remove all the indentations by first stripping the existing finish and possibly resurafacing the table, all you'll do is lock the graffiti under the finish.

Of course, if you have a veneered table, there is probably not enough thickness to resurface the table any way.

[ian]

Hi Tony

If you do strip the finish off your table, you should try steaming the indentations out of the top before you embark on an epic sanding journey

[woodPixel]

Everyone's advice is dead on: sand to remove old finish, wet cloth/steam/iron to remove the dents then GlassCoat for the top.

That stuff is amazing. There are plenty of videos on showing how it's done and can be done at home (where it's dust free)

Another choice would be acid catalysed nitrocellulose or similar, but this will need to be applied by a pro in a good environment....

Maybe make some mats for the sprogs to use under their work

[q9]

Sand back, 7008, then rub down with #1200-#2000 to give a sheen.

[Robson Valley]

No. The ghosts of homework past will live on until the kids leave home.

My table was round, 5'8"/173cm diameter and 5cm thick.
Unfortunately, Western Red Cedar dents with a fingernail.
So I had a lot of visible homework.
Here's the best fix of all: Get your Mom to crochet a tablecloth to dress it up.
Mine is machine washable and I spread it on the table wet. Get it stretched evenly all around and let it dry.

Eventually had to downsize so I sold the table with 6 x 152cm tall chairs, kept Mom's cloth.

[orraloon]

I tend to agree that as long as small kids are around its best to just live with the homework marks. By all means get some place mats for them to work on.
Any finish that is hard enough is going to look plastic like. When that children damage is no longer an issue is the time to refinish the table. Who knows, by then you may want to keep it as it is for the memories.
Regards
John

[bryn23]

The best option is to get rid of the kids, sell them on eBay and use funds for new shed and machinery.

Then redo top in any finish you like

Or keep the kids and accept that any piece of furniture will get damages regardless of finish

Kids are kids, treasure the marks, as if they are doing homework it shows that good parenting is in place