Workbench Finish

[Joe O'Leary]

I'm looking for a wipe-on clear finish for my new workbench that has only slight film build.

I tried equal parts BLO, varnish and Min spirits, but I don't like the warm color imparted by the varnish (Behlen H3983 Rockhard).

Any ideas?

[John TenEyck]

Water based wiping poly might be what you're after. Or maybe Sealcoat Shellac. Butchers Bowling Alley Wax also is water clear, unlike Johnson's Paste Wax.

[Howard Acheson]

A film finish (lacquer, shellac, varnish, poly varnish) is not the way to finish a workbench top. A workbench is going to get dinged and film finishes will crack or craze or be otherwise damaged. Once a film finish is penetrated, it looses its effectiveness and adjacent areas begin to fail. No treatment is going to make a soft wood benchtop harder. I much favor a "in the wood finish". Here are two that lots of folks find effective.

First, is an boiled linseed oil and wax finish. Sand the surface to 180 grit. Mix paraffin or bees wax into heated boiled linseed oil. USE A DOUBLE BOILER TO HEAT THE OIL. The ratio is not critical but about 5-6 parts of boiled linseed oil in a double boiler with one part paraffin or beeswax shaved in. Take it off the stove. Thin this mixture about 50/50 with mineral spirits to make a heavy cream like liquid. Apply this mixture to the benchtop liberally and allow to set overnight. Do it again the next day and again the following day if the top continues to absorb it. After a final overnight, lightly scrape off any excess wax and buff. This finish will minimize the absorbsion of any water and you can use a damp rag to wipe up any glue excess. Dried glue will pop right off the surface. Renewal or repair is easy. Just use a scraper to remove and hardened stuff, wipe down with mineral spirits using a 3/0 steel wool pad (a non-woven green or gray abrasive pad is better), wipe off the gunk and apply another coat of mineral oil/wax mixture.

My personal preference is for an oil/varnish mixture treatment. Either use Minwax Tung Oil Finish, Minwax Antique oil or a home-brew of equal parts of boiled linseed oil, your favorite varnish or poly varnish and mineral spirits. Sand the benchtop up to 180 grit. Apply the mixture heavily and keep it wet for 15-30 minutes. Wipe off any excess completely. Let it dry overnight and the next day, apply another coat using a gray non-woven abrasive pad. Let it set and then wipe off any excess. Let this dry 48-72 hours. To prevent glue from sticking apply a coat of furniture paste wax and you're done. This treatment is somewhat more protective than the wax and mineral oil as the varnish component adds some protection from not only water both some other chemicals also. The waxing makes the surface a little more impervious to water so you can wipe up any liquid adhesive. It also allows hardened adhesive to be scraped off. Repair and renewal is easy. Just go through the same scraping, wiping down with mineral spirits and reapplication of the BLO/varnish/mineral spirits mixture and an application of paste wax.

Both of the above treatments are quite protective but are easy to maintain and renew. They do not fail when the surface takes a ding.

[Kent A Bathurst]

When I made my bench 13 years ago, I did exactly what Howie said - BLO and a little wax. Looked great.

I still remember what it looked like 13 years ago, which is good, because that was the last time I put a finish on it. I simply decided it was a workbench, not a piece of furniture, and said the heck with it - I'm not going to spend the time. I scraper-plane or ROS-sand or chisel+patch the surface when it starts to annoy me, but other than that............it looks like it has been used, that's for sure!! Now, if I could just get my hands on that vandal that sneaks in from time-to-time and runs a drill bit 1/8" too deep.......

[Scott Holmes]

I finish my workshop benches with an oil varnish blend.

Joe,

If you don't like the color of the Behlen's varnish (a phenolic resin varnsih); use an alkyd resin varnish like Pratt and Lambert #38 or Sherwin Williams Classic Fast Dry Oil varnish. (at SW paint stores not the big box stores)

[Steve Schoene]

My preference--no finish at all. It's a workbench, not furniture.

And, I certainly wouldn't be worrying about getting it a half tone too dark. If I were to use an oil/varnish mix, which is the next best choice, in my opinion, it would be based on whatever varnish I had on hand that was still fresh plus BLO.

[Scott Holmes]

Steve that's exactly how I "pick" my varnish for my oil/varnish blend on benchtops. Whatever is left over.

[Prashun Patel]

Joe-
I respect yr desire to finish the bench. I put a lot of work into mine, and finishing the top seems natural and right to me. Further, it does make it easier to pop errant glue or other marks off without having to sand or plane. Further, it may be a myth, but I just figure finishing both sides assists marginally in regulating moisture and might keep my top flatter longer.

Anyway, you can make a lighter oil varnish blend than what you've concocted. Behlens is dark, so try using a lighter varnish. Personally, I think this is a perfect place for a 1/2pint of oilbased polyurethane from yr BORG.

If you want it even lighter still, reduce the amount of BLO in the mix. As long as you take care to buff off the varnish before it dries, you can still 'seal' the wood without getting much build.

[Rob Sack]

I've been using the same maple bench for over 30 years. I do apply finish from time to time. I use Daly's Profin. Easy to apply and extremely durable. Even though it's a workbench, re-applying a wipe-on finish helps preserve it by making it easier to cleanup spills and dripping glue. Not to mention the fact that with all the dings, dents, and scars, an oil base wipe-on finish adds a great patina that makes the bench look even better.

[Joe O'Leary]

My preference--no finish at all. It's a workbench, not furniture.

And, I certainly wouldn't be worrying about getting it a half tone too dark. If I were to use an oil/varnish mix, which is the next best choice, in my opinion, it would be based on whatever varnish I had on hand that was still fresh plus BLO.

Steve,

I understand that it's not furniture, just something to hold things tightly, but isn't a car essentially just something to get you from place to place? I still like to have a color that I like. I've put a lot of work into this thing, so why not make it look good, even though I'll be beating on it for years to come? :D

Thanks to all for your help. I think I'll just use a lighter varnish as suggested.

Joe

[Frank Drew]

I think wood anything (even a workbench) benefits from some kind of finish, but I wouldn't go to much trouble for a workbench. My favorite oil is Mohawk (or Behlen) Tung Oil; they say it's 100% Tung Oil; whatever, it dries fairly quickly and fairly hard. A couple of coats over a couple of days and you're good to go.

[Kent A Bathurst]

I don't disagree with finishing it - most people do, and I applaud them [it's just not for me, that's all]. Especially with a bench that looks like that!! Nicely done, Joe.

[Pat Barry]

I used the BLO from Rockler straight from the can, let it soak for 1 hour, wiped it off as best I could and put a heavy coat of Minwax finishing wax on it, then buffed it out with my car wax polisher. I did top and bottom both like Prashun suggested and was very happy with the result. It did yellow it a bit (honey color) but not bad at all. My top was laminated ash. My only concern is it is very slippery - need to break it in a bit.

[Steve Schoene]

I think of a workbench as being a working pickup--going to get beat up pretty quickly anyway. And, too much finish hurts the function. I would never think of waxing, for example, because that just makes it more difficult to hold workpieces firmly in place without excessive pressure. And it if is finished there will be too much pressure to avoid really using it, like by quickly nailing a jig or stop in place or doing other shortcut but "nasty" practices. But this is mostly an aesthetic issue, and there is no accounting for taste.

[Mike Monroe]

It's been so long since I build my workbench, I can't remember exactly what I put on the top, most likely a oil/poly/MS mixture. The workbench is now broken in; dings, stains, and rubbed in finish drippings galore. At this point the workbench is more or less self maintaining. I figure it gets enough wax from when I wax the families skis on it.