I have a table a widow wants me to re finish for her. The table is a knotty pine that was made by her late husband. Any finish I can do, but what she wants because I have never done one.
She wants like you see at bars and fancy restaurants. Where it is a HIGH gloss finish, that seems to look really Thick.
What is used to create a finish like this?
From contributor Je
Those finishes are a PITA to use. They are a pour on finish which gets applied just as it sounds. Since they go on so thick they take a long time to dry…..a long time where you have to try your best to keep a dust free environment. Forget who makes them as I avoid them like the plague, but if you search for "pour on bar finish", you'll find it.
good luck,
JeffD
From contributor ma
Its a 2 parts epoxy
You can flood the surface to make it thick,very thick!
I did a project like that long ago with beer bottle caps in the table
Turn out pretty good
But you do need to watch for dust/dirt and flying insects!
This stuff dries slow
From contributor ma
I also like to add that it is pricey
"System three mirrorcoat" is a popular brand
From contributor Ba
I built some of those types of restaurant tables back in the day and we used polyester resin. Just like they use for surfboards (which I also made). You could also go with the epoxy though it is nasty stuff and not as easy to work with. One trick is to "stabilize" the wood with the epoxy(west system makes a nice product) and then top coat w/polyester resin. You need to use 2 types of polyester resin. Laminating for the build coats then add surfacing agent to the laminating resin so you can sand it and finally a gloss resin coat which is really hard. And to get that really nice glossy finish you have rub them out. Lot's a work make sure you get paid.
my2cts
From contributor Ba
Forgot to add the one thing nice about the polyester is it does dry faster than the epoxy. Though you have to be careful with catalization or you can get it too "hot" with a thick coat and it'll crack and discolor.
good luck
From contributor Ni
I did this on a 40' long bar in a winery tasting room back in the late 80's, I used a product called 'Enviro-lite' (most likely a polyester resin), worked great...1/2" deep pour,4-5 hours for a good set...I remember pulling hundreds of fruit flies out with a tweezers for for first couple of hours until it set.
From contributor Ri
I would just spray a polyester sealer like Ilva's TG1323 and then topcoat with a 2k urethane. Much more control of the edges this way, I spray conference tables this way all the time.
From contributor ji
Thank you Rick!!
just jim
