Finish on reloading bench top

[jwankel]

I'm reinforcing what will become my reloading bench. I'm adding a sheet of 3/4" sanded MDF. Should I give it a coat of polyurethane or some other finish when I'm done or just leave it unfinished? I've seen lots of discussion on benches, but never how to finish the top.

Thanks

Jeff

[Chris Keen]

I used a 4' long kitchen counter-top from Lowes when I built mine so I don't know, but I would probably say just leave it unfinished.

Years ago when I worked in a glass shop, we used to ship pieces of tempered glass simply sandwiched between 2 pieces of cardboard. We would cut the cardboard to size, with a utility knife right on the bench-top. Eventually the bench-top got "eaten away" from the razor-knife cuts, and when it did we would just replace it with a new piece of plywood.

I doubt your bench-top would ever get that bad, but if it did how much is a new piece of MDF ?

[AWLAZS]

It will be easier to clean if you put some sort of finish on it. I used plywood and left it unfinished. I need to sand it out and add a coat of polyurethane to it.

Edited March 24, 2008 by AWLAZS

[warpspeed]

I had some carpet on mine. I really liked it as stuff stayed put.

My current version is unfinished. It seems to be OK. The biggest issue would be chemicals. I like to use brake cleaner a lot and it will remove just about any paint know to man.

[Chris Keen]

Doesn't seem to harm laminates. I like the counter-top because it has that back-splash to keep things from rolling off and falling behind the bench.

[JimmyZip]

Jeff,

I have benn sanding and finishing in my spare time for a guy who builds custom furniture for the mega wealthy here in our area. If you can get a high grade poly then sand to 320 and dust it off. ( A tack cloth is best.) Then using a good brush, put on a nice even coat of poly. You have to let it draw off the brush and use a generous amount. You want to overlap your brush strokes and keep your strokes parralel. Remember to use a generouse amount on your brush. Let that coat dry for a couple of days. I know the can will say you can coat sooner but I usually wait 48 hrs. Then, dust off the top and reapply. If you use a good amount it will be somewhat self leveling. Make sure to radius the edges of your table top before you finish. MDF is smooth but if you can find a sheet of MDX that is the ticket. The stuff is made with phenolic resin as a glue and when coated with polyurethane I can leave a 2 qt. mason jar full of ice on the thing and not even get a ring! The MDF will be just about as good when it is coated.

If you want it to look really good you could just go with catylized laquer. It will react to few chemicals and is easy to refinish. Then if you want to poly afterwards down the road, you just scuff it up with some 220 grit and spray away. Use a gravity fed gun and run your pressure as low as you can. We get some creative requests and put dyes in our laquers that are cool. I personally like the look of purple tinge on laquer. It brings out the speckles in the MDF. Also, Plum Creek MDf is a better grade of board. I don't know what they do different, but their board is the best I have seen.

Hope that helps,

JZ

P.S. When you have istalled your top, you can wax it with furniture wax. The buffed out surface will help prevent powder from sticking to your benchtop. It will also help you to dust it off easily.

[Flatland Shooter]

Jeff,

I have benn sanding and finishing in my spare time for a guy who builds custom furniture for the mega wealthy here in our area. If you can get a high grade poly then sand to 320 and dust it off. ( A tack cloth is best.) Then using a good brush, put on a nice even coat of poly. You have to let it draw off the brush and use a generous amount. You want to overlap your brush strokes and keep your strokes parralel. Remember to use a generouse amount on your brush. Let that coat dry for a couple of days. I know the can will say you can coat sooner but I usually wait 48 hrs. Then, dust off the top and reapply. If you use a good amount it will be somewhat self leveling. Make sure to radius the edges of your table top before you finish. MDF is smooth but if you can find a sheet of MDX that is the ticket. The stuff is made with phenolic resin as a glue and when coated with polyurethane I can leave a 2 qt. mason jar full of ice on the thing and not even get a ring! The MDF will be just about as good when it is coated.

If you want it to look really good you could just go with catylized laquer. It will react to few chemicals and is easy to refinish. Then if you want to poly afterwards down the road, you just scuff it up with some 220 grit and spray away. Use a gravity fed gun and run your pressure as low as you can. We get some creative requests and put dyes in our laquers that are cool. I personally like the look of purple tinge on laquer. It brings out the speckles in the MDF. Also, Plum Creek MDf is a better grade of board. I don't know what they do different, but their board is the best I have seen.

Hope that helps,

JZ

P.S. When you have istalled your top, you can wax it with furniture wax. The buffed out surface will help prevent powder from sticking to your benchtop. It will also help you to dust it off easily.

If I do all that to my reloading bench it will be too pretty to use. Heck, the little lady would probably make me move it from the garage and into the living room.

Bill

[blkbrd]

A 10 foot kitchen countertop works great.

Just enough space for a couple of presses and some work room.

[DonT]

OK, here's my opinion for what it's worth

If your choices are to give it a coat of poly or leave it unfinished, I would leave it unfinished.

Any surface coating that you apply will get melted with solvents, dinged with dropped parts, and scratched with whatever you slide across it.

The laminate idea is a good one. At this point you could go to your local countertop shop or home depot and get a piece of laminate to glue onto your MDF.

I have a "pretty" work top...it's just not functional. Maple ply with numerous coats of automotive clearcoat to a high gloss finish. All of the above mentioned bad things are happening so if I need to clean my gun or anything else, I have to put a towel or piece of cardboard to protect the finish

My next top will be solid butcher block with an oil rubbed finish that I can sand and re-oil as needed.

Hope this helps

24 yrs. Painting Contractor

5 yrs. Custom Home Construction

2 yrs. Amateur Reloader

[AWLAZS]

"My next top will be solid butcher block with an oil rubbed finish that I can sand and re-oil as needed."

That is a great idea thanks.

[dajarrel]

The majority of my bench, where the presses are located, is unfinished 1/2 plywood put down 10 years ago over a 2x4 frame. It gets beat up pretty badly but is still smooth enough to use a wide paint brush to clean off. I also finished a six foot section with polyurethane. This is where I do my gun work and set my computer up, etc. I don't spray brake cleaner on it but it gets it's fair share of dust and dirt. i use a gun mat when working on the guns, just to keep the parts together.

As with any finish, if you use it, you will refinish it eventually.

FWIW

dj

[Dark Horse]

My next top will be solid butcher block with an oil rubbed finish that I can sand and re-oil as needed.

A variation i've seen a few times thats a bit less expensive than hardwood butcherblock, was a 2x4 cut in to 2-3" lengths then assembled like a butcherblock for a tabletop as well as set up as shop flooring the end grain hid all forms of Oops' ans was very forgiving if anything with an edge hit it.

Jim

[kgunz11]

Owning a cabinet business for the last few years... let me save you some time, money, and headache.

Medium Density Fiberboard is going to make a mess when you try and put polyurethane on it. The distillates in the poly are very thin and the MDF will soak it up like a sponge. I'd recommend applying a laminate to the top of the MDF with the appropriate 2 part counter top glue. The glue needs to be sprayed out of a cup gun, if you don't have the tools or time, scrap the MDF and go to Lowe's and buy you an inexpensive stick of post form laminate counter top. It's the quickest and least expensive route to go.

[JoeRinMD]

I built my reloading bench over the Christmas Holidays and used my woodworking workbench as the basis for the design. For the top, I used two layers of 3/4" plywood glued and screwed together. Then over top, I used a 1/4" layer of tempered hardboard (i.e. Masonite) as the sacrificial layer. I put an edge banding of 3/4" oak around the perimeter to hide the plywood and Masonite edges and also to provide a more durable edge to the bench. The Masonite layer is only tacked down with very small brads, so that it can be easily taken off and replaced when it gets dinged up badly. I've had my old workbench for over 25 years and I've replaced the Masonite layer 2 or 3 times. The Masonite layer doesn't really need any finish, it's a pretty hard surface as it is. If you wanted to make it more impervious, you could paint a polyurethan varnish over it. As was noted before, poly varnish won't stand up to harsh solvents like brake cleaner or acetone.

Joe

[Flexmoney]

I'm reinforcing what will become my reloading bench. I'm adding a sheet of 3/4" sanded MDF. Should I give it a coat of polyurethane or some other finish when I'm done or just leave it unfinished? I've seen lots of discussion on benches, but never how to finish the top.

Thanks

Jeff

If you already have the MDF fot the top...consider yourself done. Mine is 6-7 yrs. old and I expect it will be just fine 20 yrs from now.

[Conqueror]

I laid down the self-adhesive kitchen floor tiles available at Lowe's. They were like $3 apiece and I only needed 8, they took about 20 minutes to apply and now my bench has a nice, smooth, white surface.

[flintlock]

How stiff does the bench need to be to stabilize the press??

[Run n Gun]

How stiff does the bench need to be to stabilize the press??

For my bench in the garage I bought some "L" brackets from Home Depot, screwed them to the wall and then the bench. For the bench in the house I built it in such a way that I was able to screw it to the wall from underneath. The more ridged you make your bench the better it'll work.

Ed

[bayouman]

I used at least two coats of polyurethane for a nice hard surface. I normally don't clean my guns on my bench, but have small desk close by. I typically use a pad on top of the desk to absorb solvents.

[kenmulajr]

I used build 50 on mine. I got it a home depot it is a clear epoxy coating that you just mix, pour on then let it dry. Powder doesn't stick and if you cant really hurt it

[tightloop]

OK, here's my opinion for what it's worth

If your choices are to give it a coat of poly or leave it unfinished, I would leave it unfinished.

Any surface coating that you apply will get melted with solvents, dinged with dropped parts, and scratched with whatever you slide across it.

The laminate idea is a good one. At this point you could go to your local countertop shop or home depot and get a piece of laminate to glue onto your MDF.

I have a "pretty" work top...it's just not functional. Maple ply with numerous coats of automotive clearcoat to a high gloss finish. All of the above mentioned bad things are happening so if I need to clean my gun or anything else, I have to put a towel or piece of cardboard to protect the finish

My next top will be solid butcher block with an oil rubbed finish that I can sand and re-oil as needed.

Hope this helps

24 yrs. Painting Contractor

5 yrs. Custom Home Construction

2 yrs. Amateur Reloader

:You don't really have to go to the expense of butcher block, just use MDF and replace as needed, lots less $$.

[D.Hayden]

My next top will be solid butcher block with an oil rubbed finish that I can sand and re-oil as needed.

That's what I did.. it's 70"' x 28" x 2 1/2" thick maple, 4 x 6" legs.. and drawers underneeth.. just some Linseed oil on top..

It's also my regular woodworking work bench (1/2" lower than my table saw top)

It weighs a ton (ok.. maybe 400+ pounds)... and it does not budge an iota..

TL - it just looks good.. lol

[flameo]

i have a reloading bench and a cleaning bench i think a reloading bench should have some sort of smooth finish to keep the droped powder from being grounded in and produce a safety hazzard and that is only if you do not clean it on a regular bases.

[John Heiter]

+1 vote for the pre-formed laminate countertop from the Home Depot. Nice smooth uniform surface and the built in backsplash is a huge plus. Seems to hold up to most banging around as I don't hesitate to hammer on stuff on it and I don't have to worry if I leave a drink glass or spill solvent on it. Not sure what the possibilities, are but I've spilled some pretty nasty stuff (bore cleaner, etc.) on there and you can't tell it. From the other posts, it looks like people are going after three categories. Price, Durability, and Appearance/Customness.

On a 1-5 scale I'd give it:

Cost: 5

Durability: 4

Appearance: 3.5

It's not going to look as nice as laquered wood or oiled butcher block, etc. but hey, it's a work bench.

[SKR]

my bench is built to not look like a bench. all oak stained red mahogany with polyurathane. when the doors are closed it blends into the house. i do everything on it except spray brakeclean on it. i also use a bench mat for pistol work. it gets wiped off with pledge every now and then. no problems after 6 years.