# Finish for workbench?



## gatortrial (Dec 25, 2013)

Hi Folks,

Am looking for a bit of advice regarding a finish for my workbench. Am almost at the stage to finish it and just wondering what folks here would advise is a decent finish for a workbench, if anything at all. 

Thanks!


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## Fred Hargis (Apr 28, 2012)

I suggest you skip any film forming finish such as varnish. Instead go for an oil finish or a concoction finish. Film finishes will flake off after some pounding, and not be that easy to reapir. An oil finish is simple to repair, and doesn't flake. A lot of folks are happy with just BLO, or maybe a mixture of varnish/BLO/mineral spirits (sometimes called danish oil). I prefer something a little different: tupentine/beeswax/BLO. This has the advantages of the oil finishes, plus the beeswax keeps glue from sticking; when you spill a little it pops right off after it dries. Dissolve the beeswax in the turpentine (you can use mineral spitits and it won't smell nearly as strong), shave the beeswax and put maybe 2 ounces into 1 pint of solvent. After it's dissolved (which can take days), mix in about 1 pint of BLO. Then after liberally and let sit a few minutes, then wipe it off and let it dry. When you wipe it off, you can use a squeegee and put it back into the jar. Save the remains for future refreshment and you're good to go.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

I've never put anything on a work bench and recently I had some polyurethane getting a little old so I put it on my bench. It wasn't long before there was enough scratches on the finish glue was sticking to the bench as well as before I put poly on it. 

In the future I if I put any finish on one I think I would use Fred's mixture or at least paste wax.


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## HowardAcheson (Nov 25, 2011)

A film finish (lacquer, shellac, varnish, poly varnish) is not the way to finish a workbench top. A workbench is going to get dinged and film finishes will crack or craze or be otherwise damaged. Once a film finish is penetrated, it looses its effectiveness and adjacent areas begin to fail. No treatment is going to make a soft wood benchtop harder. I much favor an "in the wood finish". Here are two that lots of folks find effective.

First, is an boiled linseed oil and wax finish. Sand the surface to 180 grit. Mix paraffin or bees wax into heated boiled linseed oil. USE A DOUBLE BOILER TO HEAT THE OIL. The ratio is not critical but about 5-6 parts of boiled linseed oil in a double boiler with one part paraffin or beeswax shaved in. Take it off the stove. Thin this mixture about 50/50 with mineral spirits to make a heavy cream like liquid. Apply this mixture to the benchtop liberally and allow to set overnight. Do it again the next day and again the following day if the top continues to absorb it. After a final overnight, lightly scrape off any excess wax and buff. This finish will minimize the absorbsion of any water and you can use a damp rag to wipe up any glue excess. Dried glue will pop right off the surface. Renewal or repair is easy. Just use a scraper to remove and hardened stuff, wipe down with mineral spirits using a 3/0 steel wool pad (a non-woven green or gray abrasive pad is better), wipe off the gunk and apply another coat of boiled linseed oil/wax mixture.

My personal preference is for an oil/varnish mixture treatment. Either use Minwax Tung Oil Finish, Minwax Antique oil or a homebrew of equal parts of boiled linseed oil, your favorite varnish or poly varnish and mineral spirits. Sand the benchtop up to 180 grit. Apply the mixture heavily and keep it wet for 15-30 minutes. Wipe off any excess completely. Let it dry overnight and the next day, apply another coat using a gray non-woven abrasive pad. Let it set and then wipe off any excess. Let this dry 48-72 hours. To prevent glue from sticking apply a coat of furniture paste wax and you're done. This treatment is somewhat more protective than the wax and mineral oil as the varnish component adds some protection from not only water both some other chemicals also. The waxing makes the surface a little more impervious to water so you can wipe up any liquid adhesive. It also allows hardened adhesive to be scraped off. Repair and renewal is easy. Just go through the same scraping, wiping down with mineral spirits and reapplication of the BLO/varnish/mineral spirits mixture and an application of paste wax.

Both of the above treatments are quite protective but are easy to maintain and renew. They do not fail when the surface takes a ding.


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## gatortrial (Dec 25, 2013)

Thanks all for v useful feedback!


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## baller88 (May 20, 2014)

Your workbench surface should be easily refinished when needed, so don't go with any paints, varnishes and etc, but also low-maintainance preferably matt. I recommend using a 'hard wax' oil which is a wax,oil and natural resin blend with a w.spirit base, and is available in matt sheen. It doesn't require any further work once finished and also allows spot repair.

You can also get the 'lightening' version which keeps your wood light if your into the aesthetics.


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