Looking for Advice

GREAT QUESTION I know someone out there has the answer…...........Not me ,,,but someone …..
Thanks for this great Question

mike

-- Mike in Bonney Lake " If you are real real real good your whole life, You 'll be buried in a curly maple coffin when you die."

Not sure about it, cause I have always heard about it being ok to use it the other way around….ie Poly over BLO….but if it is a work bench why not try the Minwax version of tung oil which has poly in it and lightly sand it first with 220 and also between coats or something…

-- Frank, Little River/Academy, Texas , http://www.allthingsrustix.com

i would go with shellac. the blo won’t work because the surface is sealed and blo needs to soak in. the poly might work but the poly you have on there is cured so the poly probably won’t stick well. scuff sand the surface with 400 and a coat of shellac would bring it back. if i were you though i would think of putting some hardboard or melamine on it because that will probably be better.

I agree with TAW. The blo won’t soak into the surface, unless you asnd the polly off. I agree, with his suggestion to use shellac.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

shellac it !

-- work from your heart and your spirit will live forever

Could you put a piece of white or almond melamine on top of the ply? I prefer to use melamine for tops as they are very easy to clean and make it easier to see the pieces of wood or whatever material being worked.

-- Oldworld, Fair Oaks, Ca

King there is nothing like the natural look for the shop. My advice is don’t make it too pretty.

-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python

Green paint with a little net … ping pong table

-- work from your heart and your spirit will live forever

Since I use my benches for clamping and gluing, I apply paste wax to the finish, and re-new it from time to time. Glue, paint, and varnish will not stick.

-- "Heaven is North of the Bridge"

Its a WORK bench…

-- Never board, always knotty, lots of growth rings

Grumpy- Don’t worry, it’ll never be pretty. Every project is some more war wounds. It just finally needs some attention. bbqKing.

-- bbqKing, Lawrenceville

Thats the spirit King. You need those war wounds to make it look like a shop.

-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python

Referring to “Understanding Wood Finishing” by Fob Flexner, (referred by my wood scientist friend), I would say to continue your finish surface with the same type of finish already applied. Poly on poly as the BLO will not be as tough and I imagine may not penetrate or dry as well. It may even turn gooky since it will take longer to cure. The Minwax Tung/poly mixture is fine for lightly used surfaces but it’s not as tough as a pure polyeurethane finish. Personnaly, I prefer the Minwax mixture myself as I like how the oil penetrates the wood and gives it life, and the polyeurethane part of the formula hardens nicely, but again, not as tough as pure poly. Polyeurethane gives a plastic look that I’m not completely fond of (well, it is a plastic, isn’t it?), but it’s durable. So for a shop bench, I would continue with the satin poly.

8iowa has an interesting concept for his bench’s finish. So, it also depends on your use of this bench.

-- "They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night." ~ Edgar Allan Poe