I need a durable, clear finish for wood.

I made this jump box for my crossfit class. It is made to be jumped onto and off of over and over, and that's about it. I like the unfinished, utility look, but it is almost impossible to handle without getting splinters. It's going to a location that has a lot of kids, so I need to make it smooth and safe. Can anyone make recommendations for some sort of clear coat or sealer or something that I could use? Ideally, I'd like something that will fill up the gaps, but still be clear to keep the look of the box. I don't want to spend a month curing this or anything though. My other idea is to lightly sand it, paint a solid color, and still throw some type of clear coat on there. Suggestions appreciated.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-H...e%28HDR%29.jpg

Box dimensions are 20x24x30 and is made out of 3/4" plywood (thanks T-Giv!)

Shellac or polyurethane.

Any advice on how to properly apply those products? I don't think I've used a wood stain since high school wood shop class.

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Originally Posted by Irving

Any advice on how to properly apply those products? I don't think I've used a wood stain since high school wood shop class.

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Read the inst on the side of can ? It's not a stain, since it's going to be abused grab a brush and apply.

Cover it with truck bed liner!

BTW, you might want to run a 3/8" round bit router around the edges. It will reduce splitting and cuts.

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Originally Posted by Irving

Any advice on how to properly apply those products? I don't think I've used a wood stain since high school wood shop class.

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Both are easy, as Jim said the directions are on the can. You can get them in spray cans too but it is more expensive. Just make sure the surface is clean and dry. You will need to lightly sand between coats.

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Originally Posted by mb504

Cover it with truck bed liner!

BTW, you might want to run a 3/8" round bit router around the edges. It will reduce splitting and cuts.

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I thought about this. The screws are too close to the side to realistically pull this off I think. I may ask a wood working relative to borrow something though. Routers sure are nice to have when you need one.

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Originally Posted by newracer

Both are easy, as Jim said the directions are on the can. You can get them in spray cans too but it is more expensive. Just make sure the surface is clean and dry. You will need to lightly sand between coats.

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Okay, I figured as much. I guess I wanted to make sure there was nothing tricky involved. Think 5 coats would do it?

Thanks guys.

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Originally Posted by Irving

I thought about this. The screws are too close to the side to realistically pull this off I think. I may ask a wood working relative to borrow something though. Routers sure are nice to have when you need one.



Okay, I figured as much. I guess I wanted to make sure there was nothing tricky involved. Think 5 coats would do it?

Thanks guys.

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Sure, till it gets knocked over. Myself id go to tractor supply, buy one of the rubber style horse mats, cut to size then gorrila glue to box. Varnished or polyurethane, wood is still wood. Approach this as if its going in a kids playhouse. What's the best material to use (cheaply) to avoid injury.

No good deed goes unpunished.

Run your palm sander all around it with 80 grit then 150 grit and 2-3 coats of epoxy paint. Splinters and chips at edges is result of matl used. Just the nature of the matl.

Polyurethane is the right product for durability, but it's painfully slow to dry. It can be applied with a brush, which probably makes it your only good choice for a clear finish. Anything better and faster drying needs to be sprayed.

I wouldn't bother with 5 coats. Put on two or three or whatever it takes to feel splinter free and plan to slap on another dome day down the road when or wears off.

Sanding might do everything you want without any finish at all.

Thank you Tim. I plan to do a light sanding to start. As Buffalobo pointed out, I feel like my biggest limitation is the material I used.

Shellac dries a lot faster than poly.

Big NO to just plain shellac or polyurethane. Both are going to be too slick! Sure, for the sides and bottom, I would go polyurethane, but I would want an epoxy with some grit in it for the top where people are going to actually have their feet. You could add grit to the polyurethane too, but it won't last as long as epoxy.

If it was me, I would coat the whole thing with clear epoxy and then finish the top with grit added epoxy. You can buy bags of grit on Amazon to add to clear epoxy or polyurethane. http://www.amazon.com/40202-Non-Skid...rds=epoxy+grit

As a Crossfitter(sic) you may just want to go the cheap route and paint it as the thing is going to get abused and tossed around.
You want it to have some grip on the top or somebody is going to eat it when hopping up, like the bedliner/rhinocoat/line-x
My two cents for what it is worth ;-)

You could also add grip tape to the top after finishing.

Yeah with this box, every side is the "top." I like the idea of Bellinger as well, but I wonder about the cost, the additional weight, and how will it will adhere to the word. I like the idea of epoxy with grit added, except I don't want it scratching the floor.

I'm in the aisle at Home Depot now. I think I'll look for cheap bed liner.

Wrong type of material to use a clear, easy to apply abrasive ressitent coating. Truck Bed coating would work. Clear marine polyester resin would work, but why?

Originally I was interested in keeping the unfinished look of the box. I've since decided it is not worth the trouble for what it will actually be used for. I went with some cans of Rustoleum bed liner, as I have a second project that calls for bed liner as well. I'll let everyone know how it turned out. Thanks for all the input, as usual.

Marine spar varnish. Add some sand to the varnish. Apply with rags.

I just used polycrylic on a project. I don't know how it will hold up long term but it went on well and it was two hours between coats with a light sand and tack between. Pretty straight forward.

http://www.minwax.com/wood-products/...tective-finish

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Originally Posted by cstone

I just used polycrylic on a project. I don't know how it will hold up long term but it went on well and it was two hours between coats with a light sand and tack between. Pretty straight forward.

http://www.minwax.com/wood-products/...tective-finish

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I have an idea for something else made of plywood and I think I'll go this route for that project. Thank you for the link.

I though I'd add something for future thought. A family member used Rustoleum deck coating. He used it on a bench. The stuff reminds me of a less soft Rhino liner. He made me up a sample piece of pine to play with. The stuff is impressive. A bit more than a couple cans of bedliner, but the anti skid is better than the spray cans I've used in the past. Probally works on decks too.