MFT - Perferated Top Replacement

[btracey1]

I am about to replace the top on my MFT and wonder if anyone has tried to seal the surfaces to make them a little more moisture resistant? I was thinking of maybe a few coats of wax but really don't want slippery surfaces. Accidentally spilling water on my old top proved to be a bad thing.
Any suggestions would be appreciated>
Thanks,
Brian

 

[Brice Burrell]

Brian, try a search, I know we've gone over thing several times.  Wax, poly, and a bunch of other stuff was mentioned, I don't remember what everyone used because I wasn't interested.

 

[Sparktrician]

Brian, I use Butcher's Bowling Alley Wax.  It's a good paste wax that seems to last a while.  It doesn't make the top totally impervious to moisture, but it does help a bunch. 

[smile]

 

[PeterK]

I have successfully used shellac as a top coat on some mdf work surfaces and thinking of using it on my MFT/3. It works well against most spills as long as they get wiped off fairly soon. Water takes some time to penetrate shellac. It toughens up the mdf and makes it more slick. Simple and cheap. Not sure if it would affect the 20mm holes but shouldn't as it penetrates while not seeming to cause any swelling. Going to try it this weekend on some of the holes to see if any bad affect before doing the entire top.

 

[Ken Nagrod]

Couldn't you just get by on the cheap with a can of spray spar varnish?  Then anytime you needed to touch up areas, you just whip out the spray can and be done with it quickly other than dry time.

 

[shoe maker]

a couple coats of waterlox sealer works great. it is made up of tongue oil and resins. i did two coats of waterlox  followed by wax. what is nice about having wax on it is that nothing accidentally gets stuck to the table. and glue drippings will not stick to your table, and can be scraped off easily with a putty knife. but if you don't want it slippery just a couple coats of waterlox will help for moisture penetration. but have found Johnson's paste wax is nice. it is slick right away after a fresh waxing but then becomes a less over time until you wax it again.

 

[davee]

A fellow class member at Advanced Router training recommend Bulls Eye Shellac, which I have subsequently used.  This was fortunate as I inadvertantly sprayed liquid on the table this week.  It was 10+ minutes before I noticed and after wiping down there was no damage.  The holes are not adversely affected at all.  As mentioned above, it makes the table a bit more slick, which I see as another advantage.

 

[btracey1]

Thanks for the responses and suggestions guys. I needed to change out the top and figured now is the time to take some preventative steps so maybe I won't have to change it again any time soon. Now if I can just remember to re-set the depth correctly on the plunge saw after I change the blade!!!!!!
Brian

 

[spikfot]

Just to be sure, you did already flip it over once...?

 

[btracey1]

William,
I could have flipped both pieces (If a person forgets to re-set the plunge depth on a TS 75, after changing a blade, I'm told a person could end up cutting his or her MFT top into two pieces!)over, or glued the pieces back together and then flipped it. But since the water spilled and ran through the holes it was pretty much trashed. Kinda like those compressed sponges that explode to full size once you drop them in water. Someone had to field test the MFT so I figured it might as well be me. I now know a few things NOT to do with it.
Brian

 

[Jesse Cloud]

Hey Brian,
Bummer about your drowned top.  If any portion is undamaged, cut it out and save it for jigs - it will make a super clamping surface.

I haven't done it with my MFT (now on second top) but I just spray Zinnser shellac from Home Depot on my mdf jigs.  Cheap and easy.

 

[btracey1]

Jesse,
I have some Zinnser seal coat  laying around, I have read a bunch of stuff here on the Fog archives and I'll probably follow up with some wax. Willy was recommending Butcher's Bowling Alley wax, I have Johnson's and Renaissance.
Too late to save any of the old top...already trashed. Next time!  [big grin]
Brian

 

[Chris Hughes]

At the rick of sounding like a broken record.  I would use MDO instead of MDF.  MDO aka signboard is already water resistant and is much lighter.