Sealer for table

jeffcaputo

I am looking to seal my table that I just purchased and was curious if anyone has suggestions for a product to use.  I live in Southern California so weather is not much of an issue and I have a full table cover for it as well.  I am not looking to stain the table neccesarily, I just want to protect the wood.

 

 

nolaegghead

Helmsman spar urethane - they sell it at all the big box hardware stores.

nolaegghead

Or you could use a deck sealer.

RocEGG

I decided to just use some Thompsons Water Seal Waterproofer Plus Clear wood protector.  My table is raw spanish cedar. I sprayed it on with an airless paint sprayer and it came out well. Basically just made the wood a bit darker and brought out the grain. I keep it covered as well, and the few times it has been out in the rain it beaded up nicely. An advantage to this is you don't have to sand/scrape it off to reapply. Just spray it down again. I use this stuff on my deck and my fences and it holds up well. It is also relatively cheap and available at your local big box home center. It says it waterproofs as well as adding UV and Mold/Mildew protection.

XLBalco

I am in the process of sealing and using pettit zspar flagship 2015. So far it is going down excellent. I went this route after hearing pros and cons on other sealers. Expensive but seems to be worth it thus far.

nolaegghead

I am in the process of sealing and using pettit zspar flagship 2015. So far it is going down excellent. I went this route after hearing pros and cons on other sealers. Expensive but seems to be worth it thus far.

It's worth the extra money.  Especially if you're in a harsh environment.  I used the Helmsman, but my egg is under a deck cover and I cover it when not using it.  Deck sealers aren't going to give you a fine, finished look, and that's what I wanted.  The plank egg tables aren't really something you'd do a furniture grade finish on.  I went with the monolithic top and shelves, and aimed for a wip-off smooth finish.  It meant sanding between coats and lots of work.

This is a top for a table I made for a friend, similar to mine.  I chose the pic because you can see the sheen.  Pecky cypress - cavities filled in with polyester resin, and epoxy saturated base.  Should last for years if covered an not exposed day in and out in the sun.  The epoxy turns the soft cypress into rock hard maple.  Soaks in like a sponge, and hardens.

XLBalco

Looks great. Tell me about the sanding between coats if you don't mind. What did you use? I'm at that point to where I will sand tomorrow night.

eggo

I used Ready Seal on my cypress. Check it out at:   readyseal.com

nolaegghead

I sand lightly with 120 grit after the first coat, then 220 after the second.  three coats.  Just use any sandpaper - aluminum oxide is good.  Garnet wears out fast.

Looks great. Tell me about the sanding between coats if you don't mind. What did you use? I'm at that point to where I will sand tomorrow night.

XLBalco

was going to use 220 grit on the palm sander lightly... i practiced on some scrap and seemed to work... any reason not to?  did you sand by hand?

nolaegghead

220 is fine, palm sander is fine.  You just want to knock down the raised grain and give the next coat something to stick to.

XLBalco

Sounds good. Thanks

cortguitarman

For a deck stain, use sikkens SRD. For a furniture like finish, look into Sikkens Cetol DEK. The latter is a deck stain but looks like fine furniture when done. You do have to finish all 4 sides of the wood with this product. They sell a cetol DEK maintenance product that goes on once per year and it will maintain the original finish. FWIW...I've been building and staining.decks for 12 years. Sikkens is far superior to any product I've ever used. It is expensive, but it lasts.

wolfsburg18

nolaegghead - which epoxy did you use to harden the cypress?

nolaegghead

This stuff:

http://aeromarine-products.amazonwebstore.com/AeroMarine-30021-Epoxy-Resin-1.5-Gallon/M/B0047R2C9Y.htm?traffic_src=froogle&utm_medium=CSE&utm_source=froogle

XLBalco

sanded lightly last night and put a second coat on this morning... looks freaking aweseome....

if i had more time i would put more on the table but 2 coats will have to do... i am going to put a few more though on the top.. i didnt think it would be that much of a difference between coat 1 and 2 but it was