# Sealing Natural Wood Dining Table - Help



## 125mph (May 25, 2010)

Hi,

I brought a nice dining table from Crate&Barrel. It comes unsealed and they recommend a paste or beeswax to protect it. I ordered the Liberon Premium beeswax and applied three coats. I thought that was going to be good enough and then I had my first dinner. The hot plates left heat rings and the cold drinks left rings as well!!!...

What do you guy recommend? I'm thinking about using polyurethane but I don't really like the shiny / glossy look. Even with the matte version, the shine is still there. I stumbled on some article about mixing poly in various stages to get the look right but I cant find that article.

Any other recommendations? use placemats? ... lol


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## Brian_Hinther (Sep 13, 2009)

Poly is made for floors--abrasion-resistant, but not very hard. Tables need hard, like a regular varnish. Waterlox Original would be among the hardest. Put on as many glossy coats as you want, then finish with satin. Or, use #0000 steel wool to knock down the gloss to where you want it.


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## Colt W. Knight (Nov 29, 2009)

First thing you are going to have to do is remove all the wax finish you already put on the table. When you think you have it all off, wipe it down really well with Lacquer thinner, mineral spirits or denatured alcohol. Let it dry. 

I would use a lacquer finish on a table. 

After it has been degreased, apply a sealer, vinyl, lacquer, shellac or poly sealer. Sand smooth with 220, Apply another coat. Then sand back with 220 or 000 steel wool. Steel wool can be messy, so a 000 steel wool cloth or sponge equivalent work great. 

Apply numerous layers of lacquer. Spraying works best, but you can buy Deft brush on lacquer at Lowes. After applying several coats, let it dry for a few days, then wet sand the top with 600-1000 grit. 
Then you can take 0000 steel wool or equivalent sponge/cloth and give it a nice beautiful satin look. It will not be shiny, but it will look great. 


Table top varnishes and water based poly would work as well. I would definetely avoid oil based polyurethane.


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## 125mph (May 25, 2010)

Thanks a lot guys! Based on all the information, I'm going to do the following.. let me know if all sounds good.

1.) Remove wax using heat gun and scrapper. Also read that I should use ammonia/water solution to easily remove the wax.
2.) Sand down 220 any excess wax that cant be removed. Should this be higher grit paper? I'm scared of screwing up the real wood?
3.) Apply mineral spirits to the table and wipe down 
4.) Apply waterlox original sealer varnish with brush along the grain of wood
5.) Apply 2 more coat of the waterlox original.
6.) Apply waterlox satin sealer as the top coat. 
7.) Use #0000 steel wool to bring down any unwanted gloss



Colt W. Knight said:


> First thing you are going to have to do is remove all the wax finish you already put on the table. When you think you have it all off, wipe it down really well with Lacquer thinner, mineral spirits or denatured alcohol. Let it dry.
> 
> I would use a lacquer finish on a table.
> 
> ...


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