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.
Thanks.
Joel
<[email protected]> wrote:
-----------------------------------------------------
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 wasnt
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 dont
want water soaking in on contact.
---------------------------------------------------
2-3 coats of an oil based deck paint is one way; however, think I
would cover the top with a piece of sacrificial, 1/4" hard board.
When it gets crapped up, replace it.
Probably less costly than a can of paint.
Lew
On Dec 9, 8:55=A0pm, "[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote:
> 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.
>
> I have on hand Watco, Exterior Watco, Waterlox, and several types of
> varnishes. What would be best?
Formica.
On Dec 9, 8:55=A0pm, "[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote:
> 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.
>
> Thanks.
> Joel
Two part epoxy paint...specifically Rustoleum Industrail Mastic, not
cheap but waterproof & very durable.
Not great for sun exposure though.
cheers
Bob
"Robatoy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:f96adda6-fa0b-4031-a997-40a553ae5084@l13g2000yqb.googlegroups.com...
On Dec 10, 6:56 am, Phisherman <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Maybe a polyurethane varnish, floor paint or apply Formica over the
> MDF. If unprotected wood gets wet, it will swell.
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
"[email protected]" <[email protected]> scrawled the following:
>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 wasnt
>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 dont
>want water soaking in on contact.
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
On Dec 10, 11:48=A0am, "Leon" <[email protected]> wrote:
> "Robatoy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
> news:f96adda6-fa0b-4031-a997-40a553ae5084@l13g2000yqb.googlegroups.com...
> On Dec 10, 6:56 am, Phisherman <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>
> > Maybe a polyurethane varnish, floor paint or apply Formica over the
> > MDF. If unprotected wood gets wet, it will swell.
>
> 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.
TBIII will come off alright, just seems a bit more difficult.
TBIII pops right off gloss laminate though.
On Dec 10, 6:56=A0am, Phisherman <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Wed, 9 Dec 2009 20:55:09 -0800 (PST), "[email protected]"
>
> <[email protected]> wrote:
> >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.
>
> >Thanks.
> >Joel
>
> Maybe a polyurethane varnish, floor paint or apply Formica over the
> MDF. =A0If unprotected wood gets wet, it will swell. =A0
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
whit3rd wrote:
> On Dec 9, 8:55 pm, "[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote:
>> 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.
>>
>> I have on hand Watco, Exterior Watco, Waterlox, and several types of
>> varnishes. What would be best?
>
> Formica.
I agree.
--
Free bad advice available here.
To reply, eat the taco.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbqboyee/
"Robatoy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:f96adda6-fa0b-4031-a997-40a553ae5084@l13g2000yqb.googlegroups.com...
On Dec 10, 6:56 am, Phisherman <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Wed, 9 Dec 2009 20:55:09 -0800 (PST), "[email protected]"
>
> <[email protected]> wrote:
> >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 wasnt
> >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 dont
> >want water soaking in on contact.
>
> >Thanks.
> >Joel
>
> Maybe a polyurethane varnish, floor paint or apply Formica over the
> MDF. If unprotected wood gets wet, it will swell.
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
Maybe thats why it is called Titebond. WW
On Wed, 9 Dec 2009 20:55:09 -0800 (PST), "[email protected]"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>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 wasnt
>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 dont
>want water soaking in on contact.
>
>Thanks.
>Joel
Maybe a polyurethane varnish, floor paint or apply Formica over the
MDF. If unprotected wood gets wet, it will swell.
On Thu, 10 Dec 2009 06:56:20 -0500, Phisherman <[email protected]>
wrote:
>On Wed, 9 Dec 2009 20:55:09 -0800 (PST), "[email protected]"
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>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 wasnt
>>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 dont
>>want water soaking in on contact.
>>
>>Thanks.
>>Joel
>
>Maybe a polyurethane varnish, floor paint or apply Formica over the
>MDF. If unprotected wood gets wet, it will swell.
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.
Plywood, plastic laminate, metal sheet...