Question Cast Laminate on Wood?

[SkyHighJK]

I recently acquired a nice wood coffee table that I'd like to keep for a long time. Over the last month that I've had it I've started to notice tiny little scratches on the surface. It's mostly only visible in certain angles of direct light, but over time it will only get worse. The girlfriend and I have been very careful with it (using place mats when we eat, coasters [with felt bottoms] for drinks, and generally trying our best to never slide anything over it), but I'd like to be more proactive with protecting it somehow...

I DON'T want to use glass over it, and I'd prefer to not use a PE mat either. The problem is that it isn't perfectly flat -- it's a slightly distressed (i.e. more natural) top and also has curved edges to give it some character. I'm wondering if using a cast laminate would work?

Trying to stay away form using acrylics or epoxies or anything like that, but then again I am definitely no expert when it comes to this.

Any of you out there have some thoughts / advice?

The pic is from a website; You can kind of see the non-uniform / non-linear edges.

I'm thinking either an optically clear or a matte cast lam. The table itself is already "finished" or "sealed" (with what, I do not know) but it's pretty low on the gloss scale.


Thanks everyone,
SkyHighJK
[Jordan at Gans]

 

[SkyHighJK]

I should have said: I want to avoid using PVC mats, not PE mats.

 

[Billct2]

Personally I wouldn't want laminate on my wood table...I'd use a good furniture sealer/ wax to protect it.

 

[SkyHighJK]

Personally I wouldn't want laminate on my wood table...I'd use a good furniture sealer/ wax to protect it.

If it's already sealed, would it make a difference? Wouldn't the new sealant obtain scratches just like the factory-finish does?
Same thing with waxes I suppose: the wax finish would pick up scratches I'd imagine --- is it something where you sand it down and then reapply every few years?
I do NOT trust my carpentry and woodworking skills one iota. I have a half-dollar-sized scar on my hand from when I got my hand skin sucked into a belt sander a few years back. That was fun.

 

[Johnny Best]

Give it a sanding with 300 grit sandpaper and tack rag it and apply Tung Oil and work into wood with cotton rag, let dry 24 hours and reapply with 600 wet and dry sandpaper and buff off with a cotton rag. The more coats you apply the better the finish. Repels water and scratches really well.

 

[SkyHighJK]

Give it a sanding with 300 grit sandpaper and tack rag it and apply Tung Oil and work into wood with cotton rag, let dry 24 hours and reapply with 600 wet and dry sandpaper and buff off with a cotton rag. The more coats you apply the better the finish. Repels water and scratches really well.

Thanks Johnny....
So does this basically mean that I'm removing the 'factory seal' and applying my own?

 

[equippaint]

I dont think you are going to stop the scratches no matter what you do. Put a glass top over it if you must.

 

[Johnny Best]

That factory seal from Burma (Myanmar) is as thin as a fly's wing on there. Probably lacquer paint mixed with elephant piss sprayed at high pressure so as not to waste any.
Turn it over and try putting the tung oil on to see how it looks. It does not have a strong smell so you can do it right where it is.