Polyester Resin Finish ?

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pjm699

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I have to finish a large workbench for a process line at work. It is going to be used with saturated metal salt solutions.
I am planning to use polyester resin (on birch ply) so that it is sealed and durable - are there any dire warning or horror stories to put me off this course of action?

Thanks Phil
 
if you're talking about fibreglass type resin I'd advise against it,

I've had to repair quite a lot of boats where plywood had been fibreglassed with polyester.

it doesn't bond to wood very well at all, especially where it gets wet
 
Have you thought about Osmo PolyX? I'd have thought two or three coats of that would be resistant to quite a lot - once in a while clean it down and re-oil. It would be a damn sight easier than polyester, and certainly not so unpleasant. It would undoubtedly be cheaper (certainly in labour) - it's worth a thought.
 
Epoxy resin would be harder wearing, you need a UV stable one. It can be easily coloured if required.
 
Thanks gents, I will look at those options, needs to stand-up to a lot of scrubbing as well, bench will have to be cleaned down (washed at least twice a day). Nastyness / time taken are secondary to durability in this case, thanks once more, Phil
 
Would it not be better to reconsider whet the top is made of? Is ply the best solution?

Would a kitchen type top be better?

Have a look at something like this.

http://www.apolloworktops.com/

Not as expensive as Corian and hard wearing, can be trimmed and sanded with normal woodworking tools. Just needs polishing at the end.

Just a thought.

Mick
 
MickCheese":3kk2wdkk said:
Would it not be better to reconsider whet the top is made of? Is ply the best solution?

Would a kitchen type top be better?

Have a look at something like this.

http://www.apolloworktops.com/

Not as expensive as Corian and hard wearing, can be trimmed and sanded with normal woodworking tools. Just needs polishing at the end.

Just a thought.

Mick

Good idea, I may have an 'offcut' let me know the size.
 
Too many options now -

Workbench is 3050 long (as that is a std. length but longer would be better) and ~700 deep and will be pierced in several places for tubes / wires / pipes to pass through.

Stainless would be nice but this is a prototype line so I am trying to keep the costs down and over that distance there would have to be a lot of support which would bump the cost up. It would be good to be able to fold a lip on the top but again we are into proof of concept rather than a work of beauty (sadly)

I do like the worktop idea - I would have to seal where stuff went through though - a lot less than sealing the whole lot though. thanks for the suggestions, I will have to do a bit of thinking as hopefully we will be starting to build next week.
 
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