Best Finish for Bench

From the folks at Rockler, here is their Q&A about finishes on workbenches

Just remember that over the years, it WILL get beat up, chipped, dinged, knocked by dropped hammers, and used for many unforseen purposes. Putting a spit-gloss finish seems like a waste, since it would only serve to deter you from actually using your workbench out of fear of damaging the finish!

-- Dekker - http://www.WoodworkDetails.com/Blog/MNagy/

I used 1/3 BLO, 1/3 turpentine, 1/3 spar varnish(not urethane). On the second coat use less turpentine. This takes a while to dry. I never got past the second coat, I had to get back to work.

-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon

Thanks guys, but I have to ask, what is BLO?, Thos. Angle.

-- JCRug, Prairieville, Louisiana

BLO = Boiled Linseed Oil.

Thomas’ finish sounds like a good one. I would suggest anything that is easilly renewable and does not form a possibly brittle film on the bench (like Poly) because that will tend to fracture and chip and then not be easily renewable. I went with a few coats of thinned BLO for my bench. Come to think of it, it probably deserves to be rewnewed!

-- Mark, Webster New York, Visit my website at http://thecraftsmanspath.com

One of the magazines just had a write-up about workbench finishes. I’ll try to track it down for you.

-- JP, Shelbyville, KY

Great! Let me ask what ya’ll think about tung oil. I see this finish used a lot on the TV show Woodworks. Thanks for the input.

-- JCRug, Prairieville, Louisiana

John,

Tung Oil is just fine rather than BLO. It is just a bit less amber in color and the smell is a little bit less strong. However, it will work fine…some might say that it will actually build a bit better than BLO.

One thing though, the finish that David Marks uses on Woodworks is not actually Tung Oil. He uses General Finishes Seal-A-Cell as a sealer and Arm-R-Seal as a top coat. There is some info on this on his web site. I’m not sure why they always label the finish on the show as “Tung Oil”.

-- Mark, Webster New York, Visit my website at http://thecraftsmanspath.com

Hey Mark, Thanks for the info. I watch the show a lot and have always just heard him say “tung oil”, so I appreciate the update.

-- JCRug, Prairieville, Louisiana

seal a cell and arm r seal,Ive been working extensively with the general finish stuff for a while now ,and the combo above is hard to beat,it just is ,benches or furniture it works, and while not going to give a chemistry lesson here,its because they have resins and driers (not lead) that make them dry well and seal well,Just my 2 cents

Thanks CharlesNeil! I appreciate the info.

-- JCRug, Prairieville, Louisiana

I’m building a new workbench with (2) sheets of 3/4” MDF (glued together) for the top. Having not used MDF very much, what type of surface finish should I put on the MDF

-- tburk5

Tim Burk,

MDF will not wear well no matter what you finish it with. I would suggest that you seal it and then lay down a sheet of 1/8 inch hardboard on top of it. Then replace that when needed. Maybe edge band with pine as the MDF will chip and rub on your clothes.

Make sure that you support that sandwich of MDF with extra bracing. It will sag even at 1 1/2 inches thick; it is so heavy that it has trouble supporting its own weight. It will make a fine bench top although.

Steve

-- Stevethepeeve -- I'm no rocket surgeon

Thanks, Steve

-- tburk5

Tim, Save your money and go with something other than MDF. Like Steve said, MDF will sag, flake off, not support any vises for long and will swell when you spill your coffee on it. It seems to be OK for kitchen countertops (go figure) but just won’t take any abuse at all. I dunno, maybe if you only use your wifes toolkit you’ll be OK. LOL!

I built mine out of two sheets of plywood back to back to make a 1 1/2” thick top. Most of the guys here seem to favor hardwoods, some like John Ruggles went with pine 2×6’s or face glue a stack of 2×4’s.

John, I finished mine with several coats of Polyurethane. I honestly beat the hell outta mine at times and the only thing that has affected the finish was a saw blade that was set too deep for the cut! That’s OK…Battle scars give it character! Anyhow, when it really gets picked I can just unscrew it and flip it over to a new side! Here’s a hint though…Allow enough overhang so that you can clamp something down.

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!

When I built my bench, I was advised to use Watco Teak Oil. It seems to work well and is easily renewable. As it gets scratched and dented occasionally, I just apply a light coat of the teak oil and wipe it off.

Also, once the finish hardens, I have found it good to treat it with a coat of wax. This makes it so that glue will not stick to it. Hope that helps.

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28