Thread: Resurfacing a Glulam Benchtop

I wouldn't have thought that it was too hard, although I would probably take the benches off and do them outside. You can place them back at the end of the day to use or just use the tops of the cupboards or a bit of ply, because you are going to make a lot of sawdust.

If you have 45 Deg joins be aware that you will have bench connectors under the join. There will be no glue and very few screws.

Don a good face mask and goggles.

Get yourself a good belt sander and a few 80 grit belts and take the bench back until there's no more bad bits. Change grits on the belt sander to 120 and go again. Then change to Third or half sheet orbital sander and work your way down from 120, 240, 320 to 400 making sure you have sanded all the marks off from the previous grit before changing down ( you may go through several (part) sheets of the same grit before you are ready to go lower.

Once you have finish the 400 you will be feeling pretty proud of yourself and will be ready to finish with oil or poly - thats up to you.

Thanks for your reply.

I need the benchtop to be as tough as possible with no continueing maintenance as it is in a rental property that I own and I do not want the tenants to have to look after it.

What do you mean when you say "poly"?

Polyurethane, I did mine with it just over a year ago.
I used Cabots Gel which is a one part gel that is easy to apply - less drips.
But it does scratch and dent so I'd say I will probably do it again after another year or so.
This may be as easy as a light sanding in situ and one or two new coats or I may take the tops off and do them outside.
Unfortunately timber is not granite so its NOT maintenance free. You could use a 2 pak poly that is a lot harder - this may bring your maintenance cycle to every 5 years - don't know for sure.

Thanks

I will give it a go.

follow Bleeding Thumbs recommendations, but after you oil, let it dry thoroughly (At least a week). Then cover with 2 part clear (I used rustins) This should last for a couple of years, is supposedly "resistant" to alcohol, heat (within reason), liquid, etc

I'd recomend 2 pack estapol (Wattyl 7008) for the tops. It's been around for at least 30 years so it's a proven product. You can get a pretty good finish off the brush and it's as hard a finish as you'll find. Did a kitchen top in it more than ten years ago and was back visiting the clients recently, stil looks really good.

Mick

I've done three kitchens with wooden benchtops using Cabot's Cabothane and can highly recommend it. It's a lot thinner than the gel, and so harder to work with in terms of drips, but it penetrates the wood grain more deeply and forms a glassy, very hard wearing finish. The first was done seven years ago in a rental and was still pristine when I sold it in March 06. I had some car polish to cut and shine it but it wasn't necessary. The second was done four years ago in a rental and is still pristine. The third was done six months ago in our home and is still pristine.

It essential to 1) is to thoroughly but gently sand between coats with a fine to medium grit sandpaper so each layer binds to the previous one effectively and 2) Put on many coats - all the above have between six and seven coats. Because the poly is so thin it takes this many coats to build a hard, well bonded durable surface suitable for kitchen abuse but once you've done it's a fantastic surface - my wife has even put a hot pot off the stove on it for a couple of seconds with no damage evident.

The other very important factor for a durable surface is letting it cure properly before use. Curing is essentially the hardenning of the surface. One pack poly can continue to cure for up to three months but the critical time is the first week or two - it will harden dramatically during this period and you'll have to leave it unused for a week at least.

Good luck!

EDIT: Listen to Mick - he's a pro. Mick: does two pack cure faster and how many coats did you use?

Mick I looked at using the 7008 but was put off a bit about wether it was suitable for a food preparation surface - I recall reading it wasn't - I am not sure of this.
I have heard that cured poly is vertually inert so it should be safe.

I must admit if it can handle being on your floor for years and years its going to last a long time on a bench.

Originally Posted by Bleedin Thumb

Mick I looked at using the 7008 but was put off a bit about wether it was suitable for a food preparation surface - I recall reading it wasn't - I am not sure of this.
I have heard that cured poly is vertually inert so it should be safe.

I must admit if it can handle being on your floor for years and years its going to last a long time on a bench.

Thumbs, I'm 99% sure Estapol 7008 is a poly - just a two pack one

From memory there was three or four coats on the tops. (it's been more than ten years and I had a painter applying it). From memory 7008 needs a minimum of 8 hours and a maximum of 24 hours between coats. Any longer than 24 hours and it's only a mechanical, not chemical bond between coats. So I'm guessing that it cures in 24 hours, but possibly a full cure takes a bit longer. And yes, as far as I know/can remember it's a polyurethane.

I'd say that unless you were chopping your food directly on the top and getting chips off the finish and into the food you'd be pretty safe. I couldn't guarantee that there was absolutely zero chemical transfer from the 7008 to any food, but I'd guess that you'd be more likely to get chemical transfer from plastic packaging (or breathing the plastic fumes in a brand new car)

Mick (who's fairly assured of never needing to worry about new car fumes )

glulam or for that matter any timber benchtop requires maintenence ,dont expect your tenents to do anything for you regarding looking after the top ,when you get sick of maintaining the top you will replace it with laminate anyway ,whoooooo the saye has spoken

I think 7008 is poly also. And admit my initial reservations about food safe are all but dissipated sooo........

Can anyone tell me if I can apply it over Cabothane after the obligatory sanding etc, IE can you put a 2 pak over a 1 pak?

From what you say Mick I wont get a chemical bond, but if I apply 2 good coats on top of my 4 -5 original coats I recon it should be strong enough.

My only hesitation is applying the stuff. I used 7008 on a kids table once - by brush.... lucky it was for my kids because the finish was a bit embarrassing to sat the least.

As you say it lasts for a long time so every time I look at it I'm reminded of my shortcomings...also the bloody thing has somehow managed to migrate to the lounge room.

BT, personally I would be very reluctant to put 2 pack urethane over the single pack Cabothane. On top of that the Cabothane has been in use in the kitchen and would need a very good clean, and a thorough sanding, for any coating to stick.
Putting 2 or more coats on is not going to improve the inter-coat adhesion between the Cabothane and the 7008.

Considering the cost of 7008 and the amount of preparation work involved, I would give Wattyl Tech Service a call before I did anything.

Better to be safe than sorry, if this stuff doesn't stick it is going to be a b***h to get off.

Thanks Big Shed, even with another coat of carbothane I would sand the living daylights out of it seen as many cleaning agents contain silicon ie Mr Sheen etc. These play havoc with poly resurfacing.

I've just looked at the Wattyl site and they recommend that even when redoing 7008 on 7008 you sand back to bare wood....yeh right.

Unless someone has a horror story regarding redoing poly I think that i will be fairly safe.