Question about Urethane Finish

[Stephen Edwards]

My experience with finishes and my knowledge about them leaves much to be desired. I've had some satisfactory results but still have a long way to go in my education!

My specific situation and questions for this thread: I'm building a new router table. The cabinet is 3/4 birch, which I'm considering painting. The face plates and the band around the top are ash which I'll stain. The top is a recycled piece of material which was given to me. It's appx. 1 1/4 inch thick particle board laminated on the underside with a thin layer of hardboard and plastic laminate on the top. It's stable, stout and flat.

One of my goals and challenges for this project has been to use as much material as possible that I had on hand, left overs from previous jobs, etc.

I have both enamel and latex paint to paint the cabinet. I have helmsman spar urethane, satin finish, both brush on and spray cans. I'll use that for finishing the stained ash.

I'm also considering a coat of the urethane on the plastic laminate top. Any pros or cons that I should consider before doing that?

Can I apply the urethane over the latex or enamel paint on the cabinet itself? Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks for your time and info.

[Phil Phelps]

Don't paint the laminate. It's perfect the way it is and you don't have the proper product to do it. Trust me, I do this for a living. I've painted thousands of sq.ft. of laminate. You can't beat the original finish of laminate. Before I coated over latex with urethane, I'd just use an alkyd enamel.

[Stephen Edwards]

Thanks Phil for the advice. Just to be clear, I wasn't considering painting the laminate. I was only considering applying the clear urethane to that. The laminate had a lot of scuff marks on it, discolored, etc. Using very fine grit sandpaper I've got that cleaned up, scuff marks and discoloration are gone and I'm back to a white surface.

Are you saying that I should not use the clear urethane on the unpainted laminate? Thanks again for your time and advice. I just want to be sure that I'm understanding you correctly.

[Jim Becker]

The urethane you have (which is a soft variant designed for flexibility I believe) is not designed to stick to plastic. Just leave the laminate the way it is. You buy nothing by applying it and may end up with more maintenance...if it sticks at all.

[David Christopher]

I would just apply wax on the laminate..it will slide sooo easy

[Stephen Edwards]

Thanks for the replies and advice, gentlemen. I appreciate it very much.

[Phil Phelps]

Thanks Phil for the advice. Just to be clear, I wasn't considering painting the laminate. I was only considering applying the clear urethane to that. The laminate had a lot of scuff marks on it, discolored, etc. Using very fine grit sandpaper I've got that cleaned up, scuff marks and discoloration are gone and I'm back to a white surface.

Are you saying that I should not use the clear urethane on the unpainted laminate? Thanks again for your time and advice. I just want to be sure that I'm understanding you correctly.

I think the others covered it well. You can always laminate another plastic laminate to the surface.
Phil