Coat Wood Bar Top?

Back in college some friends built a bar in their apartment... they just painted the top with about 20 coats of polyurathane that you can get from Ace Hardware (they got the Ace brand I think). For a very smooth finish, you can lightly sand (fine grit) between coats. It turned out pretty cool (some people said it was over board, but that's what engineers do )

http://www.bartopepoxy.com/

- Josh

We just started to work on our bar in the back of the theater. We are planning on putting a piece of 1/4" glass on top. Might save a few coats

I have not used it, but you might take a look at

Minwax High Build Polyurethane

Cool! Post how it works.

Envirotex Lite

This works great and can be found at your local craft store (Michaels, Ben Franklin Crafts, ect).

Its made for bartops and projects. "50 coats of varnish in one coat!"

Yes, I have used this on my own bartop and I'm pretty happy with the results.

I'm not familiar with the Helmsman so I cannot make any comparisons to it. But by the way you describe it, it sounds as thick as standard polyurethane.

The Envirotex has the consistency of honey. So it pours on thick in my opinion, self levels and cures. Its a 2 part epoxy, so it must be used right away after its mixed. The only flaws in my application seem to be some dust that was in the air.

Heres a couple pictures of it on my bartop. Its difficult to get good pictures showing it, but in person it has a ton of gloss and the depth of perhaps a thin sheet of glass. I could have poured more, but I'm happy with the recommended application. It did a nice job of filling in a crack where two wood boards decided to come apart. I put some tape on the bottom side just in case it ran, but it didn't. It cures pretty fast, so I attribute that to the gap sealing abilities.

Please excuse the rest of my mess in the photos, its a work in progress! The bar sits behind my sofa and doubles as the second row of seating, which works out GREAT. Most people wanna sit at the bar instead of on the sofa where the audio/video is optimized!

They have different sized packages. I'd just follow their guidelines for coverage and round up. Best to have more and a little thicker than not enough. Read the instructions on the website. I dont know about the craft stores near you, but around here in Pa. they always have 20% off coupons in the local sunday papers. Its not cheap, so I tried to get the best deal I could.

I'd think it would cover up previous coatings pretty well. Just be sure to clean it before starting and try to minimize the dust in the air. Anything that lands in it will stick and anything under it will stay forever. It will cover imperfections and make a very smooth as glass surface.

Good luck, let us know how it works for you!

I just looked at the pictures of your theater & bar. Very nice.

It appears the back of the bartop has a raised edge. Perfect for pouring a coating onto. You won't have any edge to worry about. The little gap between the flooring won't pose a problem. I'd put some paper down under it just in case tho. Get plenty of coating and do it all one shot.... I bet it will look like a million bucks!

http://www.tapplastics.com/shop/product.php?pid=31&

I used to make coffee tables out of hockey sticks when I worked at an ice rink. I would use this for the tops and they came out perfectly. When the two parts are mixed, it creates CO2 bubbles, but they pop by blowing on them (the CO2 in your breath caused them to pop) or by hitting them with a torch set to low (remember, its the CO2, not the heat that pops the bubbles.)

Argh.... I had tiny bubbles, but they all came out just by blowing on them. It sounds as if the surface wasn't clean in those spots. Like it either had a waxy or oily film on those spots? Could it be the coating on the prefinished flooring? Or maybe something that spilled on those spots during use. I hope the repair can successfully mask out the imperfections.

Your preparation doesn't appear lacking. It is a strange anomaly tho.
I hope to see some pictures of happy results after the sanding & recoat.

Dr V

That came out looking amazing!

Looks GREAT! Much better than those ridges from the planks.

After its good and cured, just clean the top with a mild cleaner and rag. I used some sort of orange based cleaner and it took 99% of those oil marks away.

The Envirotex DOES look amazing.

Hmmm....I'm thinking DIY Shuffleboard table for next winter's project...

Great job! That looks amazing!!

That's how it ALWAYS works!!!

Neuner,
You Bar top looks fantastic!

How did you apply the Envirotex to the bar rail and keep it from running down the side?

- Scott

Looks sharp!

The biggest problem I had when I was doing my bar top was that I had a hole cut out for my drip tray. I tried using tape to keep the epoxy from dripping off the edge but the tape was no match for the heavy mixture. If I had done it again I would have tacked some small trim in there to keep it from dripping. I used a heat gun (high powered hair dryer basically) to get the bubbles out and that worked great.

Just picked up the lumber to frame in my basement and add in an official home theater. I'm psyched!

Neuner - Did you decide to go with the Envirotex because you had the gaps between the floor slats to deal with?

I'm considering going with just a plywood veneer for my bartop, so I think the Helmsman product would probably be sufficient.