What's a good craft-proof finish for desks?

[Alex Franke]

I need to build a crafting table for the wife and kids. It will be subjected to ink, paint, glue, crayon, glitter, wax, clay, and other crafty stuff. Anyone have any good ideas for a bulletproof (er -- I mean craftproof) finish that's easy to clean and maintain?

[cabinetman]

A piece of glass works pretty good.

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[dbhost]

Stainless Steel springs to mind...

[gsmittle]

Isn't there some sort of epoxy bar top finish that's pretty indestructible?

g.

[Pappy]

I did a bar top with this stuff and it has held up to use for a couple of years with no damage from sweat rings or alcohol spills.

http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/200...ish-Quart.aspx

About the only other suggestion I would have is the 2 part epoxy finishes.

http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/200...-Pint-Kit.aspx

[cwsmith]

Personally, I don't know of any finish that will stand up to the occasional slippage of a craft tool like a X-acto knife or the tip of a pair of scissors, or some of the paints and adhesives that don't get cleaned up in a timely fashion.

Best "finish" in my mind would be to a replaceable protective sheet, like glass, or "drawing board" cover. If you're making this table to look nice, then I think the only way to protect it would be "glass". Your local glass shop should be able to cut it to size, grind the edges, and even apply non-slip pads for such use. It might cost you a few $$ over liquid finishes, but it will both wear and clean up better than even "laminate". "tempered" or "safety" glass would probably be best too, especially if your kids a small and/or are a bit rambunctious.

(Drawing board cover, as once used on drafting and art tables was great stuff, but I'm not sure if this stuff is widely available anymore, unless you're in a decent-sized ciy. [Do they even make drawing boards anymore?] When I started my career in the mid-60's we used to use a product referred to as "battleship-linoleum". Years later there was a self-ceiling material that was often referred to as "Borco-board". Either was applied with double-faced carpet tape, and after many months of heavy use, we'd simply replace it.)

In the office, it was common practice to use a sheet of safety glass on one's desk, especially if it was a nice wood desk. Out in the shop offices, there was always iron dust and fragments that found their way into the offices from the shop. "Glass" was the only thing that could safeguard against such debris.

Edit: I should add that glass is not something you should ever use to cut (X-acto knife) on as it can still be scratched. There are "cutting boards" for such use and they'll save you a fortune in cutting blades, as the glass will dull a blade almost instantly.)

I hope this helps,

CWS

[jdon]

1+ on considering a replaceable top- how about Masonite? cheaper than glass, flat, smooth, firm, and okay to cut on.

[Pappy]

I didn't think of the board covers CWS talked about. Found one link to it in a quick search.

http://www.nationwidedrafting.com/store/boardcover.html

[cabinetman]

Drawing boards covered with a material like "Borco" are not impervious to some solvents, like acetone or lacquer thinner, some dyes and stains, and is not "self healing" to cuts from knives. I'm stickin' to my suggestion of glass. I've used ¼" with no problems. If it's resting flat on a substrate, it's very difficult to break.

.

[Alex Franke]

Thanks for the great suggestions, everyone!

I got up this morning and started eyeing a big picture window in the kitchen that needs to be replaced because of a broken seal, and it happens to be just about the right size to cover the desktop.

I've never worked with glass before, but I know it requires some simple tools. Is it relatively easy to re-use a single sheet from a 2-pane window? I mean is it easy to separate the panes so the glass can be broken down to size?

[cabinetman]

Thanks for the great suggestions, everyone!

I got up this morning and started eyeing a big picture window in the kitchen that needs to be replaced because of a broken seal, and it happens to be just about the right size to cover the desktop.

I've never worked with glass before, but I know it requires some simple tools. Is it relatively easy to re-use a single sheet from a 2-pane window? I mean is it easy to separate the panes so the glass can be broken down to size?

It's likely that the single pane window glass is only ⅛" thick. If you use that make sure it sits flat to a solid surface. It can't be subject to any deflection. I would recommend ¼" instead.

.

[Mr__Bill]

Have you considered just using Formica on the surface? One of those with the color all the way through should last a while and when it's too far gone just put another layer on top.

You can also get cutting mats from a fabric store. They have a grid work on them and rulers along the sides, they keep cutting edges from dulling.

or
Soapstone, just sand and oil every so often.

Bill
it's so much fun to spend other peoples money

[pelligrini]

Thin glass is pretty easy to cut. If your window is tempered glass it won't cut.

A solution we used to do in our architectural studios was to use some white bathroom wallboard on our table tops. It's a thin hardboard with a washable white surface, much like a dry erase board. It's pretty cheap, much cheaper than the drawing board covers.
It doesn't heal if cut though, but I always used those self healing cutting boards.

[cwsmith]

I can't speak to the ease of salvaging the glass, as it largely depends on how it was originally mounted. If it's a typical wood-framed window the glazing compound could be pretty hard, but still removeable with some "elbow-grease" and care. Factory sealed may be a bit more difficult of course.


Pappy,

Thanks for doing a search and posting the link on "Borco". I really wasn't sure if the stuff was still manufactured. It's been a couple of decades since I "moved" from the drafting board to the computer.

I still use the 2-sided "Borco" on my desktop. It has served well for 20 years of just being the top under my computer and Ham Radio equipment. Nice stuff to write on, and it cleans up easily.

I have also used the translucent stuff, which was great when working on the light board, back in the days when we used to have to cut "amber-masks" for silouetting photographes, prior to sending them to the publisher. Man, that was a long, long time ago.

Regarding the "self-healing"... as Cabinetman mentioned, the "cut" doesn't actually go away, but it does close around the cut, unless you've really hacked into it. Believe me, I used to spend days cutting type gallies and pasting them up for 2-column instruction manuals ("repagination" is what we used to call it). Looking at what we now accomplish with "desktop publishing", those old days are about as archaic as the quill-pen.

But, one would probably only replace their table cover once a year or so. Doing as much knife-work as I used to do, you gain a skill where you barely cut through the media, leaving only the slightest trace on the table-top cover. (For example, "amber-mask" is a "gel" that is applied to either a 3- or 5-mil acetate sheet. To siloutte a photo, you taped the acetate over the photo and then cut the outline into the gel, which is only about 2-mil thick.... and you did so without cutting into the thin, clear acetate. The amber (or ruby) gel would then be pealed away, leaving only the gel over the part of the photo that you wanted to be printed in the manual. It takes just the right "touch".

Again, thanks,

CWS