# Workbench Top Finish



## hlogan (May 13, 2010)

I am a newcomer to this site and need advice on how to finish the maple top on the workbench I just finished making. Any advice is greatly appreciated.


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## phinds (Mar 25, 2009)

Well, the way I finish mine is to get some heavy chains and beat the crap out of it, spill a little motor oil on it and then bang it with a hammer a few times and tell everyone I've had it for 30 years. Saves wear and tear on my brain when a pristine benchtop gets it first ding and its first oil stain. :icon_smile:


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## hlogan (May 13, 2010)

Thanks for the advice, but not quite what I had in mind


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

It may depend on what kind of work you plan on doing on it. If you want to keep it a show piece, just put a film finish on it and dust it off once a day. Or, you could just oil it. Or, cut a cover to fit out of tempered Masonite. Then you can pound, drip, and scrape to your hearts content.












 









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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

"Or, cut a cover to fit out of tempered Masonite. "

That is what I do.

My workbench is for work. It gets paint splattered, dented, scratched and anything else that can happen.

When you want it to look new again just replace the masonite.

George


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## BWSmith (Aug 24, 2010)

1/4"Masonite here.

If you cut some square holes in masonite,say 3/4"w by 4 or so inches long you can drop appropriate sized blocks of wood in.They serve as nice jamb stops for hand planing?And would also be useful for small screws and other stuff you want,not going anywhere.BW


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## Hammer1 (Aug 1, 2010)

If this is a woodworking bench, with dog holes and vices, you don't want it to be slippery. A light finish will help with spills and glue. About once a year, I sand mine down and apply a quick wipe on with shellac. I have a few work benches in the shop. One is covered with masonite and that's where I do my dirty work. A masonite cover wouldn't work on my woodworking bench since it would cover the dog holes.


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

Hammer1 said:


> If this is a woodworking bench, with dog holes and vices, you don't want it to be slippery. A light finish will help with spills and glue. About once a year, I sand mine down and apply a quick wipe on with shellac. I have a few work benches in the shop. One is covered with masonite and that's where I do my dirty work. A masonite cover wouldn't work on my woodworking bench since it would cover the dog holes.


Why not just cut the dog holes through the masonite?

G


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## Collett (Nov 4, 2010)

*Bench Top Finish*

The best advice I ever got was from the paint store owner. He said to use a glossy water bourne varnish. It is extremely hard, it dries very quickly so you can often put 2 or 3 coats on in a day, and being glossy it will clean up glue drips and paint spills etc. He also told me to bear in mind, that a bench top is just that, heavy duty work place so it shouldn't look pristine for very long if I use it well ... and he was right on all counts.


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## burkhome (Sep 5, 2010)

My woodworking bench is naked. It is a piece of a bowling alley. When is gets paint or stuff on it or gets marred, a belt sander fixes it up.


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## byrd (Nov 17, 2010)

I use a mixture of boiled linseed oil and turpintine, thats how my mentor always done his. His bench was over 30 years old, every now and then if gets to looking bad, just use a belt sander and recoat. benches are made to be used not look like a table top.


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## hlogan (May 13, 2010)

Thanks for all the help.I decided to use a tung oil finish on the bench top.


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## Wood4Fun (Aug 29, 2008)

meh, just use boiled linseed oil. easier to find, and probably cheaper. Will cure quicker than Tung too (like a week or less compared to weeks for the Tung)

i treated mine the first time with Danish oil (which might have some Tung in there, I dunno). Now I just rub in some BLO once in a while cuz it is around in larger quantities for my other projects.


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## mrbentontoyou (Aug 3, 2010)

i used a few ragged on/off coats of a mix of : 1 part blo, 1 part turpentine, 1 part varnish (for this batch it was McCloskys man-o-war satin, because that's what i had closest at the time. any oil based varnish would do). I keep a jar of that mix on a shelf above my bench for touch ups. 

i work on my bench with zero regard for the impact to the bench top. There are nicks and gouges from chisels, drill bits, plane irons, router bits, etc. I glue, stain, finish, as well as clean/fix my chainsaws, (lots of grease and gas) on it. with this finish, glue pops right off when dry, wipes off when wet. stains and finishes wipe right up. grease, oil and 2 cycle mix wipe up. If it gets really gross i just scrape that area with a card scraper and wipe on some more finish before calling it a day. next morning, ready to roll.


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