Best Way To Rehab MFT Top?

[darita]

Just got an MFT800 and the top needs a little rehab.  What's the best way to get it back to or close to original?  Seems like the original has a light coat of something on the surface...does it?

 

[Alan m]

the easiest way is turn it over or buy a replacemnt

 

[darita]

I thought maybe some sanding...a light coat of some kind of finish?  No?

 

[Alan m]

sorry. is the top cut into or just a bit tatty

 

[nclemmons]

The tops don't come with any finish on them. Some will put a finish on them - wax, oil, varnish, etc.  I personally just sand mine down and keep using it.

You can reverse the top.  Or make a new top as many have done with examples here on the FOG.

neil

 

[rrmccabe]

I agree with Allen.  I think the finish you are referring to is just the slickness of MDF when its made. I tried to clean up my 1080 recently and ended up buying a new top.

Sanding may clean it up but as soon as you do that the top seems to become more porous.

Now that I have a new top I plan to be careful with it!

 

[fastbike]

It is awork bench after all.  [wink]

 

[Frank Pellow]

Before eventually turning my MFT top over, I restored it a couple of times by (1) filling the gouges with auto body filler, (2) sanding the top, then (3) applying paste wax to the top.

 

[Sean7a]

Fill any significant gouges and sand.  Lastly, flip over.  If you've exhausted that, try rotating the orientation to move any deep cutting gouges to the other side of the table.

We rarely sell replacement tops.  They're expensive and all methods mentioned in this thread are really (obviously) far more efficient and financially "effective."

 

[darita]

The top wasn't too bad, but it was new to me, so I wanted to clean it up.  I sanded the top with 220 then 320 and that cleaned it up quite a bit.  The kerf cut was pretty sloppy and messed up, so I ran a dado wider than the kerf and inlaid some MDF.  Sanded flush, it's like new, other than the contrasting color.  Hopefully, by inlaying the MDF strip, it won't do anything weird to the top, like force a warp or something like that.

 

[bonesbr549]

mdf is pretty hardy.  not like hardwood that moves.  It just don't like a lot of water.  Hate you went to all the trouble with a dado.  I periodically fill my kerfs with Durham's water putty.  It's quick it's flush when dried and go back at it.  I use an old credit card to trowl it in

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Donald-Durham-DWP-1-Lb-Rock-Hard-Water-Putty/23217846?ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=23217846&sourceid=1500000000000003260430&adid=22222222227000000000&wl0={matchtype}&wl1={network}&wl2={ifmobile:m}&wl3=21486607510&wl4={aceid}&wl5=pla&veh=sem