Recommend a wood desk finish

May 24, 2022 10:43 AM

I built an office work desk with a furniture-grade hardwood plywood top. I want to finish it with a clear coat of something. What should I use?

Some demands:

- The finish is hard enough to withstand writing onto paper with a pencil/pen without seeing indentations on the desk top.
- It can stand up to a hot/cold drink without a coaster.
- It can be applied with a brush.
- I'll need to complete the finish inside the house, so a quick dry and short airing out time would be nice.
- The finish is water-based so I can clean the brush without mineral spirits. I don't know if this type of product exists. Only preferred.

Thanks for the help.

posted by mr_bovis to Home & Garden (9 answers total)

Your first demand is extremely unlikely to be met. Common wood finishes, especially quick-dry, brush-on, low-VOC, water-based finishes, simply don’t harden wood surfaces that way. If you don’t want to see writing dents in the surface, don’t write on it without a protective pad.

The other parameters suggest a waterborne acrylic like Polycrylic, or a water-based urethane like the one made by Varathane. They’re not as durable as an oil-based polyurethane, but do go on with a brush, dry fast, and don’t smell too strongly.
posted by jon1270 at 11:02 AM on May 24, 2022 [3 favorites]

I used this or a very similar product. (It was about 8 years ago.) I did it in the basement. It may have smelled, I do not recall. I covered a 3/4" piece of plywood which I then placed on saw horses for my desk. My kids used it for years as a project table. Stuff was indestructible.

It can do 1-3 on your list. #4, If I recall, it was about 24 hours before I used it. As for #5, I just tossed out the brush when I was finished. I only used the brush for an initial thin coat. Then you pour the stuff on and it self levels if your top is level. I would doubt this product will be water soluble.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 12:14 PM on May 24, 2022

3-4 thin coats of General Finishes matte clear water-based polyurethane -- I might have used the high-performance version -- should work for you. You still need good ventilation while it dries.

I'm very sensitive to those sorts of things, and I've used it inside before.

I just took a regular/thin sheet of paper, placed it on one of the shelves I've finished with this stuff, and wrote on it firmly with a pencil -- no indentation. The trick is multiple thin coats.
posted by amtho at 1:15 PM on May 24, 2022 [1 favorite]

What you want is Minwax Polycrilic. It is water-based, non-toxic and easy and safe to apply indoors. I have applied it to all sorts of desks and work tables and it works well. In my experience, you will want to apply at least 3 coats--especially for something like a desk. You'll want to buy the cans, and not the aerosols. I usually apply it with a white cotton rag that I make into a sort of smooth ball by wrapping it around another wadded up rag. I find this method prevents the bubbles you might get from a brush or roller. They also have a wide array of sheens now from matte to gloss to suit whatever style you might like -- I think the the satin/flat/matte finishes are best since glossier finishes tend to make any imperfections or mistakes much more visible. Oh, and make sure you stir the can well before you start and I think they recommend a light scuff with sandpaper (I prefer a sanding sponge or scotch-brite hand pad) between coats.
posted by This_Will_Be_Good at 2:04 PM on May 24, 2022 [1 favorite]

Every question like this will draw the advice of testing it on scrap but choose a decent sized piece of scrap. I tried a water based finish on a piece that was too small to make apparent a blotchy hue change in the wood.
posted by brachiopod at 3:16 PM on May 24, 2022

I checked with Mr. rabbit, who is a professional woodworker and made a desk for me out of high-grade plywood. He used this whey-based finish from Vermont Natural Coatings. It's water-based, easy cleanup, dries quickly, and smells like yogurt! (Really. Because of the whey.) And it's a gorgeous finish, in my opinion.

This particular finish will not hold up to long-term condensation from coasterless cold drinks, but other water-based finishes are not going to be waterproof, either. That said, it might be worth your time to give Vermont Natural Coatings a call to see if one of their other products might be exactly what you need.
posted by orange (sherbet) rabbit at 6:35 PM on May 24, 2022

I would rag on the stain you want, wait for it to dry, then use clear varathane. They make cheap foam brushes, use and toss. My oak veneered plywood table top is still fine 30 years later.
posted by Oyéah at 7:24 PM on May 24, 2022

Another way to attain the first two requirements is to get a glass top cut to fit.
posted by Sublimity at 4:19 AM on May 25, 2022 [3 favorites]

Seconding the suggestion for a glass top. Your local window & door shop should be able to do this for you, cut precisely to fit and with smoothed edges and rounded corners. Tempered glass would be ideal. I used to sell office supplies & furniture, and we partnered with our local window & door shop frequently for this very thing. Make sure the desktop and the glass are absolutely clean before you lay it down, but assuming your desktop is nice and flat, you shouldn't need any cork bumpers or anything else, just glass on the desk, and it will stay in place surprisingly well. If you have wire grommets in the desktop, that complicates things, but doesn't rule out the option. (Though, it likely will rule out tempered glass.)
posted by xedrik at 11:20 AM on May 25, 2022