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Fellow dakka denizens, I need your advice on how best to protect a game table. I am wrapping up construction of my portable, double-sided 6x4 game table and I'm wondering if I should put down some sort of sealer/varnish and if so, what kind?

When I'm done the surface will be flat matte latex house paint over glued down sand. What should I do to keep it from picking up finger prints, stains, etc.?


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*Edit* I know people sing the praises of testors dullcoat for models, but is that viable for such a large surface area?

I tried a can of this stuff: http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=164 on a test piece, but it ended up rather shiny despite it being a "matte" spray.

I haven't sealed mine and they've held up pretty well. The problem I have isn't so much the paint wearing away, it's things damaging the foam underneath and causing a tear. I just do touch-up from time to time and try to be careful about corners and sharp edges.

Haven't had any trouble with fingerprints and the like.

Hmm... well that sounds promising! Mine is sand right on top of half inch plywood so I won't have to worry about tearing foam. Maybe I'll just leave it un-treated.

A decent coat or two of latex house paint should be pretty resilient, especially if it's over a backing as solid as plywood. I wouldn't be too worried about varnishing. If it gets banged up after a bit of use, then I'd worry about extra protection (although, I'd be more concerned with the treatment my table was receiving, since it should be pretty tough...).

As for your varnish not being matte, what were the condition in which you sprayed? I had a big can of a different Rustoleum matte varnish spray that came out a bit shiny due to excessive humidity. The spray sort of condensed into shiny little drops instead of a matte mist. Not as smooth and shiny as multiple light coats of gloss, mind you, but it didn't take down the shine, at all. Better weather gave much better results, both with that spray and with the DullCote.

Ah the humidity might be responsible. It has been crazy humid in Virginia lately.