Painted Top for Kitchen Table

[Nino Maini]

My wife wants the opposite of most kitchen designs. She would like the top to be painted and the legs and chairs to be stained. I started milling up some maple, so finish dim will be 1.25 thick X 36 wide X 60 long.

I plan to use conversion varnish for the most durable finish, my concern is about wood movement and flatness. I was not planning on using breadboard ends, since it will be painted and might not see the added detail.

Any suggestions to prevent the finish from cracking during expansion?

Nino

PS: My first project after taking about 3-4 off (again) for health and family reasons...

[Wayne Lomman]

Good idea to drop the breadboard ends. If your timber doesn't crack, your finish won't crack. What 'conversion varnish' are you using? The term is generic and covers a lot of different classes of coating. Cheers

[Nino Maini]

I'm going to use ML Campbell products.

Clawlock II as the sealer
Stealth for the color
Krystal as the clear hard top coat.

[Wayne Lomman]

It's good to see you are using products from the same manufacturer! The system looks OK. I would be prepared to use it if it was available here. Is the clear coat necessary? I prefer colour all the way through rather than clear over base but that is just my preference. In general, just make sure you don't over build the thickness and it will be good. Cheers