Best finish for MFT top?

[prjones]

I just took delivery of my SECOND MFT top for my Festool studio in the making. Plan to connect them together and build custom cabinets for them this weekend.

What finish have you used on your MFT tops to protect them, make things sliiiiiiiide easily, and help with glue clean up, etc.? Thanks in advance!

 

[Jim_in_PA]

I just use BLO on surfaces like this. It's renewable, non-toxic for the most part, and inexpensive. I very rarely use any kind of film finish on a work surface in the shop...they just get scratched and cut anyway.

 

[waho6o9]

Floor wax.

Good Stuff butcher block finish.

Whatever is handy at the time.

Best

 

[rmwarren]

I used dewaxed shellac with a coat of furniture wax on one of my tops and regretted it. The top became slippery. For the most part I leave the MDF unfinished now.

RMW

 

[Vtshopdog]

I use penofin penetrating oil just because I always have it around.  Mostly you want to have something to keep the MDF from absorbing water and  swelling if it gets wet. Any finish that soaks in will do.

Be sure to do both sides of the top to prevent warping.

 

[sancho57]

i dont use anything other than use it as a work bench. Its made to be cut into, pounded on drilled into etc etc

 

[Cheese]

I use oatmeal...the original Quaker Oats variant. If a project goes downhill...I just sand the top, add milk & sugar and I'm good to go.  [big grin]

But seriously Salvador, the choice of your avatar is interesting, I'm curious.  [smile]

 

[Steve1]

I don't have anything on my MFT tops.

But then I laid the table of my new bandsaw on top.  Now I have a permanent oil stain on one. 
A protective finish can be a good idea.

 

[Michael Kellough]

A piece of cardboard, foam, ply, etc. is a good idea to protect the MFT surface when it is just being used as a table. I find the raw mdf has just the right amount of texture assist in keeping work in place. Sanding or waxing makes it too slippery.

I have not tried it but the previously mentioned BLO is probably the best compromise.

 

[Hawkeye0001]

Might be heresy but I consider them a consumable, so whatever oil or wax is left on my rag.

I usually go through about one top a year (+ flipping it around). Once done for I get a sheet of the cheapest MDF for 11€, get out my Parf Guide System and am good to go again for the next 12 months within 60 minutes.

 

[leakyroof]

Since I already had Festool's Oil kit on hand, I used the Outdoor Oil from the kit on my top. Not slippery, and at least 'some' resistance to liquids. 

 

[Cheese]

Since I already had Festool's Oil kit on hand, I used the Outdoor Oil from the kit on my top. Not slippery, and at least 'some' resistance to liquids.

Thanks for that...good to know as I have a bunch of Outdoor Surfix on hand.

 

[Sparktrician]

Since I already had Festool's Oil kit on hand, I used the Outdoor Oil from the kit on my top. Not slippery, and at least 'some' resistance to liquids.

Thanks for that...good to know as I have a bunch of Outdoor Surfix on hand.

I've been using Osmo PolyX.  It sucks into the HDF and has been quite good for years.

 

[jeffinsgf]

I've been using Osmo PolyX.  It sucks into the HDF and has been quite good for years.

I've adopted PolyX as my go to finish for just about everything. I apply it to my projects on top of my MFT style outfeed table and don't worry about getting sloppy. When I'm through finishing I take the rag I was using and rub out any drips or spills and keep rubbing out until the rag won't give up any more PolyX. I've been doing that for a couple years and the top has a nice patina and hardly any finish or adhesive will stick to it. It functions perfectly as an outfeed table. Might be a little slick for a workbench, but it seldom gets used as one.

 

[Packard]

I did not finish my MFT-style tops.  However, I did add a finish on the base of my radial arm saw. 

Each time I would apply a wipe on (oil based) poly finish to an object, I would take the sill-wet rags and wipe it over the MDF base on my radial arm saw (it is close by where I do the wipe on finish).

Over the course of several projects, I probably have 5 to 7 coats on the surface.  It does make it easier to brush off the dust. 

For my MFT-style tops, they get beaten, chewed and have drops of glue on them.  Once in a while I will take my random orbital sander and clean theme up a bit, mostly knocking down any drops of glue. Those drops generally just chip off. 

If I was inclined to finish those, I would use an oil finish.  The glue would not stick and cleanups would be easier.

But I never thought about finishing the MFT-style tops (I have 3 that I made).  And when I am done typing here, I will probably forget about it too.

 

[Coen]

Nothing.

I have poured some left-over epoxy in the place you cut into it near the rail... but that just got soaked up.

 

[Alphonse]

thin coat of shellac.

 

[Peter Kelly]

I've had problems with the MDF smelling like mildew after being stored for a few weeks over the summer so I laminate the top and underside with vertical grade HPL. Much easier to clean any schmoo off as well.

 

[Coen]

Euh... that would have to be excess humidity? I'd guess the sides and the holes suck up more moisture than the top and bottom combined.

 

[Bob Wolfe]

I use floor wax, have a really old can that doesn’t seem to run out. I use it on all surfaces. When my first table got ugly I filled the cuts with bonds, cleaned the holes, sanded smooth, relaxed. Works fine.  BW