what finish over live edge table top?

[ray299]

Hey everyone, I'm digging into my slabs that I have had drying for quite a while now. I watched a video by StoneCoatCounterTop and saw his technique about a skim coat and flood coat and love the finish. They sell the kits... but at a price tag. I should be able to get this stuff local, right? The clear coat? What works best for just a real thick clear coat for a table top? Can anyone direct me to a good thread with the clearing topic? I'm just getting into this live edge furniture stuff and don't want to start off spending a lot of money. TIA!

[VT_Forestry]

I used Famowood Glaze Coat because I could buy it locally at Lowe's - I'm sure there are better products out there but I think for the money it does a great job.  The biggest thing with any of the 2-part systems is to follow the instructions *exactly*.  If they tell you to stir it for 10 minutes - stir it for 10 minutes, not 8, not 12, but exactly 10  :D

I made this live edge walnut coffee table and went with the Glaze Coat - this was only my 2nd time using it and by far the biggest project I had done with it to date.

[ray299]

Wow, that looks real nice! And it's very similar to my oak piece... I have a lot of cracks in mine though... I wanted to fill the cracks with color- check out this link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnKg49cXnNs

I used Famowood Glaze Coat because I could buy it locally at Lowe's - I'm sure there are better products out there but I think for the money it does a great job.  The biggest thing with any of the 2-part systems is to follow the instructions *exactly*.  If they tell you to stir it for 10 minutes - stir it for 10 minutes, not 8, not 12, but exactly 10  :D

I made this live edge walnut coffee table and went with the Glaze Coat - this was only my 2nd time using it and by far the biggest project I had done with it to date.

[Kbeitz]

The best for me is two part epoxy...

[YellowHammer]

I've used the glaze coat, it works good.  $20 bucks will do a take top.  A word to the wise, the fumes it puts off are poisonous, so do not apply it to a workpiece set directly under your shop light in summertime.

The bugs will fly around the ceiling light, after awhile the fumes will get to them and they will die and fall into the table top while it is curing. arg-smiley
Personal experience. 

[nativewolf]

Hey everyone, I'm digging into my slabs that I have had drying for quite a while now. I watched a video by StoneCoatCounterTop and saw his technique about a skim coat and flood coat and love the finish. They sell the kits... but at a price tag. I should be able to get this stuff local, right? The clear coat? What works best for just a real thick clear coat for a table top? Can anyone direct me to a good thread with the clearing topic? I'm just getting into this live edge furniture stuff and don't want to start off spending a lot of money. TIA!

TulePeak does some amazing work.  Hope he's safe with all the fires in S CA.  Maybe he's off on a boat trip.

Anyhow, he has lots of posts and a few specifically on what he uses for finish.  He's in a different world though, very high end products and meticulous about even the smallest air bubble.  When I grow up I want to make just 1 table as nice as his.  I'm still so *DanG young at heart that I might never grow up enough to do it.

[PA_Walnut]

2-part epoxy works great and is a VERY durable surface (sealant) for tables that get significant use. The caveat is that it's SLOW drying in order to level. The chemical reaction creates heat, which causes outgassing bubbles. The thicker/more you lay down, the more prevalent this is. A torch or denatured alcohol spray will remove the bubbles during this phases, but if they dry you are duped.

For a table not needing large voids filled, or needing to be less bullet-proof, I really like General Finishes Polycrylic....water-based, so dries fast and the fumes won't kill brain cells. Comes in various sheens. Nice stuff that is easy to apply.

[thecfarm]

YellowHammer,oh no.     :(

[low_48]

A little late, but I prefer a low sheen conversion varnish. Those thick heavy finishes remind me of the roadside burl slab clocks from the 80s. I like my wood to look like wood, not look like plastic.

[scsmith42]

A little late, but I prefer a low sheen conversion varnish. Those thick heavy finishes remind me of the roadside burl slab clocks from the 80s. I like my wood to look like wood, not look like plastic.

My thoughts as well.  It's hard to beat a post cat conversion varnish for durability.

[shinnlinger]

I use Fiddes varnish and am quite pleased.  I used the gloss on the tables and butcher block counters I built for my wives coffee shop and am well pleased.  Varnish won't yellow/peel/crack like poly and I don't like encasing the wood in plastic like with epoxy.

[DPatton]

I'm currently working on a live edge sofa table. I have brushed on many coats Spar Varnish and after a good long curing period I completed a wet sanding out process and buffing process on the top for a near mirror like finish. It is a relatively inexpensive finish and I am very pleased with it, however there is a trade off as it was quite labor intensive. When I get it done I will post photos here on the forum.
VT_Forestry that is a real nice live edge walnut table with a real nice finish for sure. I love the character from that crotch piece and the butterflies really add to the piece.

[YellowHammer]

YellowHammer,oh no.     :(

Yeah, I went to a lot of effort, laid down a mirror smooth coat, waved the magical propane torch over it to get the air bubbles to disappear, and it was a work of art. 

I gently exited the shop and closed the door, so as not to stir up any dust, and thought everything was good with the world.  A while later, I walked in to check on the masterpiece and it looked like a bug massacre.  I even had a horsefly the size of a teradactyl and a moth the size of a bald eagle look like they had tried the classic fire drill "Stop, drop, and roll" in the finish leaving pieces of themselves stuck in the material in a swath, as they perished.  I had to use a putty knife to dig all the insect bodies, wings and legs out, leaving huge divots. What fun. 

[caveman]

Robert, your finish story reminds me of the time my uncle and I spent most of the summer rebuilding a 22' Aquasport.  We sprayed the whole hull with white gel coat.  Evidently the color white and the pleasant aroma of gel coat is very alluring to love bugs. There was not a square inch on the whole hull that did not have a breeding pair of the insidious creatures stuck to it.  We wet sanded bodies and legs out of the final coat for about a week.