Beautiful Wood
What can I apply to a table made of very soft wood to protect it?
We bought a very nice dining room table, made of a beautiful wood with decor on the top corners. Much to our dismay the wood is so soft you can literally groove it by tapping your nails on it. We are now in a situation where it is to be used as our only table and with 3 children, and many young relatives, we are looking to put something on it to maybe harden it, without losing the look and design of the wood. We have considered glass, but are wondering if there are any other alternatives.
Polyurethane will work but you’ll need to put on a few coats.
I would recommend a two part epoxy polyurethane. The instructions will be on the can, but, briefly you scuff up the table surface with high number (finer grit) sandpaper. For the couple of types of coatings I’ve used you then apply wood glue as a bond coat. Once that’s dried you mix up the two parts of the polyurethane and apply it to the table. You can put it on the surface up to 1/2 inch thick. When it dries it is like a clear rock. Very hard and durable but shows all of the beauty of the table top underneath it.
Del’s Beautiful New Wooden Machine