Replies

1. 
   SteveSchoene | Mar 22, 2009 03:53am | #1

   Through a coat or two of an oil/varnish mix.  Enough to basically seal it, but not enough to make anything even remotely slick. 

2. 
   Ray | Mar 22, 2009 04:38pm | #2

   I use the beeswax-turpentine-BLO mix on mine.

3. 
   WillGeorge | Mar 22, 2009 10:53pm | #3

   put a sealer or finish on their workbench top?

   My favorite finish on tools and bench.. WAX! And only wax. I have to admit I have used others...

    

4. 
   HowardAcheson | Mar 22, 2009 11:27pm | #4

   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 a "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 mineral 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.

   Howie.........
1. 
   northhouguy | Mar 24, 2009 06:24pm | #8

   Howard,

   I used your paraffin/BLO finish on my workbench top, (remember you responded to my post 3-4 months ago).

   I've been very happy with the results and would recommend it to anyone.  Thanks.

   Regards,

   Fred

2. 
   kre8ted | Dec 28, 2009 08:46am | #9

   Howie, I just finished making a work bench out of ash. Is there any reason either of these finishes would work better on ash than the other? I caouldn't think of any but being a novice in this area I thought I would go to the source!

5. 
   GDH2 | Mar 23, 2009 07:13am | #5

   FWIW (I am NOT an expert) - In the past I read (here or FWW, I believe) that Watco Danish oil was the best finish for a workbench.

   Doug
   The Wood Loon
   Acton, MA
1. 
   SARGEgrinder47 | Mar 23, 2009 07:20am | #6

   I use Watco.. let it cure and wax it but.. I don't wait to use it as a piece of furniture while it cures.

   Sarge..

2. 
   HowardAcheson | Mar 23, 2009 09:42pm | #7

   Sure, you can use Watco Danish Oil or Minwax Tung Oil Finish. Both are just oil/varnish mixtures. Both contain mostly mineral spirits with a little linseed oil and an even smaller amount of varnish. You can make your own and end up with a more protective finish by mixing equal parts of varnish, boiled linseed oil and mineral spirits.Howie.........

6. 
   hammer1 | Dec 28, 2009 10:50am | #10

   About once a year I sand down my bench top and wipe on a thin coat of shellac. It doesn't make the surface slippery, drys immediately, easy to reapply. Just about any film top coat would do the same. You don't want to build any surface, just one thin wiped on coat. Just enough to prevent spills and glue from penetrating a raw wood top.