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Minwax poly advice for maximum durability? (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 day ago by jbocko to c/[email protected]

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I recently received an oak coffee table top that has been finished with 4 coats of Minwax Polycrylic (not MAX). My 3- and 5-year-olds still managed to ding and scratch it with toys/play within about 3 hours.

I'm considering trying a coat or two of Ultimate Floor Finish to toughen up the surface a bit more, but I realize it might be a lost cause when going up against preschool-aged boys. I'm also not 100% sure that using a different poly top coat on top of what's there is the right move.

Anyone care to speak to:

Is using a different water-based poly finish on top of an existing one OK?
Will using a "floor finish" product on furniture offer any noticeable improvement in durability/protection?

Y'all are great; thank you for your advice!

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[–] Blue_Morpho 21 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

No amount of wipe on surface treatment will help against child damage because the underlying wood deforms. It's like putting Saran wrap over a chicken breast before pounding it with a mallet- the Saran wrap will be intact.

If keeping it intact is really important, you need a 2 part epoxy to provide a rigid coating.

Otherwise just let the damage build up and sand/refinish after kids are older.

[–] jbocko 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Thanks for the analogy; that makes tons of sense. 👍👍

[–] IMALlama 4 points 21 hours ago

To build on top of this excellent reply, put some fiberglass on top of the wood if you to the two part epoxy route. It should be transparent when done and you'll get a more ridgid and ding proof surface. That's why many wooden water vehicles have a layer of fiberglass embedded into their epoxy.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

I did my table with stairs finisher. It's even tougher than floor finisher. My 3 year old hasn't destroyed it... yet. According to my wife the only thing even tougher is professional grade boat finisher.

[–] jbocko 1 points 19 hours ago

Good info -- might give something like that a try on a different piece of furniture to test it against our resident minions. Thanks for the idea!

[–] TropicalDingdong 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I've found almost any poly finish is basically bullet proof. 4 coats? Are you hoping to be able to clean wipe paint from this thing?

[–] jbocko 4 points 1 day ago

😆

I hear you. My dad made it; he's got some woodworking eccentricities, to be sure. I'm sure he had a thoroughly thought-out reason for going gangbusters w/ 4 coats. Maybe that's why he seemed so frustrated when I told him his grandkids scratched it with practically zero effort.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 19 hours ago

Oil-based poly is much more durable. But, as other commenters say, it's not going to protect against dings. Thick, bartop epoxy would a bit, but that scratches easily. Poly on top of epoxy may give you the best of both worlds, but haven't tried that myself.

[–] Taco2112 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I used Waterlox on a desk I made a number of years ago. I used that desk extensively for a number of years and had no major scratches or dings. Pretty durable finish. I used their classic version which is oil based but they have a water based formula as well.

Edit: Disregard this comment, I didn’t see the part where you mentioned wanting to put it on over the Minwax finish. I don’t know how it will work in that application.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

As long as they're both water-based and you scuff it up a little with 120 beforehand, you should be fine, although I haven't used that specific set of finishes. Can always do the tried and true and try it out on a test piece first if you're really worried.

But yeah, TBH, even if you went crazy and used epoxy or urushi, pretty sure it'd get scratched up with kids being kids. I use 10+ coats for specific applications, and it's very scratch resistant (in fact it seems more more than the technically harder urushi... this is where I redact a few paragraphs of finish hardness discussion...), but standing up to kids, nah.