Bar top idea

[dyennie]

My wife came up with the idea to put some vintage post cards on the bar top and then seal it with shellac. For all the wood workers out there, is this the best way to put something like post card on the bar top where they won't be damaged??? Or should I look at epoxy???

 

[nukinfuts29]

Epoxy, Kleer Koat Table Top Epoxy to be specific. Not Shellac.

Cool idea.

 

[Chrisl77]

A self leveling epoxy would ensure that you don't have any high spots where the postcards are and give you an easy glass finish. Only down side is you have to work fast to ensure it doesn't set up before your finished. You can get the same results with a polyurethane but it takes alot more work. When i build my poker tables I get a glass finish with polyurethane but it takes at least a dozen coats with sanding in between followed by a final sanding down to 1500 grit, then 0000 steel wool. Then a final buffing with an automotive buffing compound.

 

[mccumath]

How about having a piece of glass cut to the appropriate dimensions, then sealing the edges to prevent beer/water from getting underneath it? Be easier, I would think. May break easier would be the only downfall I see from going that route.

 

[nukinfuts29]

it will break easier, probably scratch easier, and is more expensive.

 

[mccumath]

More expensive? I would never have guessed that! But I have never purchased a piece of glass, and depending on size, I suppose it would be a pretty penny. I have a sneaking suspicion that I would find a way to screw up the epoxy, and be left with a complete disaster...

Oh, and by the way nukinfutz29, are you stalking me??? I seem to keep running into you on these threads!

 

[dyennie]

I thought about going the glass route without doing any sealing. That way I could change the post cards out if I wanted.

 

[nukinfuts29]

Not stalking, just trolling

 

[mccumath]

Haha! Im gonna start a new trend (LTT = Love to Troll)!

I like the glass idea, and changing out the postcards would be cool. Guess it just depends on some factors... i.e. how crazy your drinking friends are, how hard you and said drinking friends are on things, cost, ability to change it, etc.

Ryan M.

 

[brewmonk]

you may not be aware that shellac is water soluble.... i'd try a test run with a few worthless(ish) postcards. poly them to the tray to test how many coats. start with a few heavy coats.

or, do you have a spray gun setup?

 

[tom_hampton]

I've been a woodworker for 20 years. Shellac isn't water proof. As many people know setting a wet glass on an glossy-finish antique will leave a milky, raised, ring where the water soaked through the finish. Most glossy-antiques were finished with shellac (if its dull it was probably oil). After the ring dries, there is usually a permanent dark ring in the wood surface, that comes from the water soaking all the way through the shellac and into the wood. Your postcards would be likewise vulnerable. In addition, shellac is very brittle in thick layers and would be prone to cracking and flaking.

As mentioned above Epoxy is the right choice for permanently sealing something onto the surface. Its actually very easy to work with, with an open time that can be varied by selection of (and amount of) hardener used. Anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour.

The biggest thing with clear surfaces like this is to not mix air bubbles into the epoxy, and to work through a couple of layers.

Much of the glass "brittle" factor can be alleviated by purchasing tempered glass. The kind that they make doors, and shelves out of. Its still not unbreakable, but it requires much more force to shatter. That runs about $10 / sq foot.

 

[Dwain]

Epoxy, Kleer Koat Table Top Epoxy to be specific. Not Shellac.

It also looks much cooler than covering with glass.

 

[bengerman]

you may not be aware that shellac is water soluble.... i'd try a test run with a few worthless(ish) postcards. poly them to the tray to test how many coats. start with a few heavy coats.

or, do you have a spray gun setup?

shellac is NOT water soluble. Shallac is ALCOHOL soluble, though.


i would probably recomend something like Envirotex lite Pour On Finish.
self leveling epoxy, not terrivle to work with, and a lot of paint stores and hardware stores carry it.

 

[brewingmeister]

A bunch of different options. Except that shellack is out unless you are working on some antique furniture. Poly, epoxy, glass or plastic. Poly needs multiple coats but is cheap. Epoxy can be done in one coat but is expensive. Glass is in the middle price wise and whatever is underneath won't be destroyed unless it is touching it. There's also plastic. You could size it yourself and change out the stuff underneath. It will take abuse but it will scratch easier than some of the others.
Pick your poison, you have to live with it.
-cheers

 

[Neopol]

As tom above stated:
As mentioned above Epoxy is the right choice for permanently sealing something onto the surface. Its actually very easy to work with, with an open time that can be varied by selection of (and amount of) hardener used. Anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour.

The biggest thing with clear surfaces like this is to not mix air bubbles into the epoxy, and to work through a couple of layers.


Do it right the first time and it will last a very very long time....this is by far the way to go...it will get scratched all options will get scratched and this can be easily buffed out jsut like you would to your car....

 

[joeybeer]

Am I the only one thinking to epoxy some glass to plexiglass the put a nice coat of shellac on top ??

 

[nukinfuts29]

Am I the only one thinking to epoxy some glass to plexiglass the put a nice coat of shellac on top ??

Yes

 

[joeybeer]

With a lexan overlay ?

 

[tom_hampton]

Polyurethane doesn't build well. It doesn't adhere well to itself. Multiple layers require sanding between layers to increase mechanical adhesion. It's difficult to put down more than 1/64th thick at a time. Plus, poly has to dry before it can cure. The thicker you build it up the longer it will take to cure and harden. Finally, poly us 50% solids, so thick layers will shrink and can crack.

Since poly is only 50% solids you would need twice as much poly vs epoxy for the same thickness. That makes the two equal in cost... because epoxy is 100% solids. Epoxy can be done in two or three thicker layers. Both poly and epoxy will cost about $3 per square ft for a 1/8th inch thickness.

 

[Fid]

Polyurethane doesn't build well. It doesn't adhere well to itself. Multiple layers require sanding between layers to increase mechanical adhesion. It's difficult to put down more than 1/64th thick at a time. Plus, poly has to dry before it can cure. The thicker you build it up the longer it will take to cure and harden. Finally, poly us 50% solids, so thick layers will shrink and can crack.

Since poly is only 50% solids you would need twice as much poly vs epoxy for the same thickness. That makes the two equal in cost... because epoxy is 100% solids. Epoxy can be done in two or three thicker layers. Both poly and epoxy will cost about $3 per square ft for a 1/8th inch thickness.

5 plus years in the Paint and Coatings Industry. My vote is that you listen to Tom. There's a pretty great thread somewhere with someone who did a bartop with epoxy and old pennies. I'll see if I can track it down.

Also, I've got an end table with a glass top on it that I have a bunch of assorted beer coasters under. Glass is definitely nice as it gives the option of switching things up when you want to but it takes about 20 minutes for a piece of dust, dog hair, person hair, honey badger hair.... to get underneath of it and it looks like crap and you've gotta take the glass off and reclean it, inevitably knock all of your coasters (or postcards) all over the floor and then spend another 40 minutes getting everything set up in that perfectly haphazard way that makes it look like you spent no time at all putting it together. Just my $.02 on the downfalls of the glass top idea.

 

[Fid]

My interwebs are running together in my brain. It wasn't a HBT penny bartop, it was a kitchen counter top. Either way... This is why the epoxy route is hands down the most attractive route to go with.

Sexy

Heres the link to the How-to article.
Install a Penny Countertop

 

[mistercameron]

I bought some of that epoxy mix a while back for a project I never started. IIRC it wasn't all that cheap. Glass may be a better option.

I saw a table at a restaurant once where they put pennies down then coated it all with epoxy. It looked pretty cool.

 

[mistercameron]

My interwebs are running together in my brain. It wasn't a HBT penny bartop, it was a kitchen counter top. Either way... This is why the epoxy route is hands down the most attractive route to go with.

Sexy

Heres the link to the How-to article.
Install a Penny Countertop

Were you watching me type?

 

[Fid]

Were you watching me type?

Yes sir.

 

[itsme6582]

West Systems has a nice article about doing a bar top. This was a high budget project but there are some good tips like using a torch to eliminate air bubbles.

EPOXYWORKS
Look on the left side for the article

 

[bigbeergeek]

Epoxy and bottle caps: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/bottle-caps-bartop-91540/index4.html

 

[brewingmeister]

If I remember correctly the guy with the bottle caps put poly down to hold the caps in place. Didn't seem like the counter top with pennys had anything to keep them in place.

How large of an area are we trying to cover? The penny counter top is pretty big and probably has a couple hundred bux in epoxy on it. I've see some things coated in epoxy which made me think damn is that gorgeous but then there's the epoxy coated stuff that just makes me cringe for the ruined wood or whatever is coated.

 

[bigbeergeek]

If I remember correctly the guy with the bottle caps put poly down to hold the caps in place.

He says he used "two part epoxy (Bio-clear 810)."

 

[brewingmeister]

He says he used "two part epoxy (Bio-clear 810)."

I didn't mean he used poly to cover the caps, just that he used the poly underneath so the caps wouldn't move when he poured the epoxy over them.

 

[Hang Glider]

Anything is going to soak into the postcards.
I've read that you should coat paper with white glue (Elmer's) and allow it to dry. This will protect the paper from the epoxy. (test first!)

Epoxy can be poured twice - one thin coat will hold objects in place, or allow them to "float" once the second coat is on.

USComposites has some clear bar-top epoxy that works well. Yellows very slightly over time, though. (not as bad as poly).


for the bubbles, get a heat gun (paint removal kind) or a blow torch, and wave it gently over the pour. It makes the epoxy thin like water (briefly) allowing the bubbles to come up and pop.