Thread: Protecting a Table

first, ban the kids to kitchen then cover table with 2" foam rubber then lay a canvac tarp over the lot :eek: will protect it from anything Tonto sorry its toooo early in the morning for intelectual discussion

Well I was thinking about some polished quarter inch checka plate but the misses thought it would be to hot in summer to cold in winter. ;-)

Glass or a sheet of Lexan

With five kids you need a bigger table

Tim

I keep telling the misses we only need a table for two!

John

If you go with glass, be sure to get properly tempered glass so if it gets broken, it won't break into shards (long sharp pieces, rather it breaks into small pieces like a windshield in a car will). You also need to get some small disks from your glass supplier that fits between the glass and table top. They form an airgap so the glass doesn't stick over time. You do want to move them every so often or the top will sunbleach around them unevenly.

There are some fairly stong 2 part finishes and pre-cat lacquers on the market. You do need to spray them and the 2 part is miserable to clean up your equipment and has a short mix time.

Good luck, whatever you do.

Paul

hcbph are there any 2 part finishes that dont require spraying or do they all need to be sprayed ? or is it better to spray to get a good finish? :confused:

John,

With five kids, I think you've got little hope of protecting your dining table unless they aren't allowed to use it. I remember as a kid my grandmother's 'parlor' was off limits to all kids, now having raised 3 I know why. Also remember my parents redecorating and buying new furniture after my siblings and I had all left home. At the time I thought the old man must have won lotto to buy all that stuff. Again, now I understand.

Some homewares shops will sell padded covers that can be made to go over the top, like a bottom sheet on a bed with elastic edges, then put a tablecloth on top. Or you can have a cheap table for everyday and use the nice one for adult company. Maybe a custom cut slab of MDF with felt between it and the table, and a tablecloth.

One thing I can guarantee, with 5 kids and bare timber, it will not come through the next decade unscathed.

Regards,

Tex

John, couple of thoughts.

My sister & hubby have 4 kids, and they are real, er, durability testers . Schoolteacher's kids, need I say more?

They have a 3 year old pine dining table that has a sheet of that clear soft PVC (vinyl) about 1mm thick over it from day one, and the tabletop is still in quite good nick now. Pretty cheap to buy so could be worth a shot. It is cut to be a pretty neat fit and it seems to cling on pretty well.

Otherwise, apart from looking at tough finishes like polyurethanes or 2 part stuff like Envirotex or Liquid Gloss (?), consider letting the table show the marks of time.

Bit hard to tell from your piccie how flash your table is, but I like the idea of a farmhouse type table that bears some evidence of time having passed and lives lived around it.

Depends a little I guess - do you have schoolteacher's kids?


Cheers.....................Sean

Originally Posted by John99

hcbph are there any 2 part finishes that dont require spraying or do they all need to be sprayed ? or is it better to spray to get a good finish? :confused:

I've heard of finishes that 'pour' onto the surface of a table. You have to make some type of form to hold it and keep it from running all over the place. I've seen it used on restaurant tables before, typically where they decopaug (??) some pictures etc under the finish. It's like a thick plastic finish. I've never done it and don't have a source. I have sprayed some 2 part epoxy finish before. If it's thinned enough, it will spray but it is one of the biggest messes to clean up. Best example I can use is think about spraying actual epoxy then cleaning up afterwards. Shop I work through tried it for a few months then gave it up. There's no way the 2 part system they tried would go on any way other than spraying

Paul

1 scratch is a disaster - a thousand patina

Treasure the dings as part of family life & good memories. Ultimately, everything is "rustic". Nothing can stay forever new.

Originally Posted by Richardwoodhead

Treasure the dings as part of family life & good memories. Ultimately, everything is "rustic". Nothing can stay forever new.

Best reply yet. Why try to hide great memories. Long, long time ago when i first started with wood i was doing up old furniture, and so many tables had history just oozing from them and looked terrific.

All the dints, scratches red wine staines etc, all become unique to your family and will be treasured in years to come fare more than a table that has a plastic protecor on it

Can someone recommend, maybe a 2 pack finish that I could use and be able to get down at the local hardware? :confused: