I’ve got a desk refurb project coming up. I’m basically going to reduce the size of an oak frame for a desk I built a few years ago, and redo the top.
I would like to make the new top out of birch ply, and finish just the faces white. I was thinking of getting some good quality white melamine ply, but I was wondering if anyone had any ideas for other ways of getting a white finish that might be nicer ? I would like it durable with a nice texture (which you don’t get if you just paint it).
Glass, painted on the back side.
Oh hang on, you said “nice texture” not “complete lack of texture” 
It would need to be applied to the birch directly. I’m basically making a box which will be white on 4 sides, a bit like this thing
except I think I’ll leave the ply edge visible
So no glass but something smooth would be nice 
I have used a self adhesive finish which actually looks good as long as longthe corners where edges meet aren’t visible.
sounds interesting, do you have a link ?
I’ll dig through my emails. Got some spare - will bring in and you can see if it is good for your desk.
There is a tub of liming wax I dropped into the space
I’m pleased with the finish i got on my skirting boards with an eggshell acrylic paint put on with a foam roller.
thanks mark and esther ! I’ll have a look at those options next week when I’m back.
I tried some sort of acrylic laquer last time, it felt very much like paint, not very nice to the touch for a desk. I ended up pouring a coat of 2-part PU mixed with marble powder and some white pigment. Worked great and cured super hard (was perhaps even overkill) but was a very messy, time consuming job and the tin of PU was expensive.
Does anyone happen to have any experience with the melamine ply ? does it blemish easily ?
it does if you put tea or coffee cups on it!
Probably a bit of a pain to do on such a small area but how about mircocrete?
It’s concrete with polymers, about 2-3mm thick, used for floors and walls normally, comes in lots of colours, flexible, looks a bit like polished concrete.
(not used it myself but saw a sample the other day)
EDIT : sorry not a very sensible suggestion but thought I’d thow it out there.
Sounds cool. Do you pour it on or does it come in pre-cured sheets ?
That’s pretty much a deal breaker for melamine then…
Quite tempted to do PU again. Is this something I could do in messy ? it has a really strong smell, probably not very good for you either. But we were planning on doing resin casting in the space I suppose.
Anyone know where I can get a tin and some catalyst from?
Pour it on and trowel it out.
Also called micro concrete & micro topping.
(not used this site, clearly quite one sided opinion)
Lots of videos on you tube about it.
What about Formica? It’s tougher than melamine and would give you the look you want.
Yeah that was my thoughts you can get some really nice ply + melamine furniture out there.
Wikipedia seems to suggest that formica and melamine are one and the same
Might go and have a look at the stuff sl hardwoods has before buying.
Melamine ply or mdf would be easier than any of the other options, provided its not too wafer thin and I can cut it without chipping it.
@lewisss any idea when we get the scoring blade unit for the table saw ?
Sounds cool!
It would be great to see some before/during/after pics if you can😊
Doing quite a lot of research on concrete forming and I’ve read a lot about concrete coatings not holding up too well. Seems that after about a year they start to crack round the corners, requiring a re-skim. Best thing to do is to cast the whole top in concrete/GRC. I’m a noob at Makerspace, but would like to have a bash at some casting. Will post when I’m ready to have a go so anyone else interested can be involved.
I’m going to go for a PU 2-part primer and a white PU 2-part topcoat. I’ll use a foam roller. I’ve found this is fine if I thin the mix a bit, even if the stuff is specified as spray-on.
Anyone know a good supplier? I only need about 1L