What is a durable finish for a work shop table??? I already stain the top board. I has 2x10's as the top with a 6x4 sheet of sanded plywood on top. My son helped me build it so I want to try and seal the top.

I've seen sheet steel.

Epoxy

Or shop floor poly/acryl sealant

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Formica

What's it used for? Does it have to withstand, chemicals, oil, heavy hammering, sharp stuff being dropped, etc?

Slumlord has a good idea! I prefer a metal top! Mine is 2x10 top with half, 1/4" plate, routed level to the wood. That way if I need to use a big hammer, I don't dent the wood! And the metal is easy to clean, compared to the wood!

Deft is the best I've found, seals and is very durable been using it for years.

Sheet steel top.

For my reloading bench I used garage floor epoxy paint...not bad stuff

I like this stuff:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Hardboa...-in-x-47-7-in-x-95-7-in-832777/202189720

Nail it in with thin wire nails, pull it off and replace when it gets stained, drilled, hammered, and sawed into submission.

Good as new.

Depends on what you are doing on the work bench. If you're building bird houses you can probably get by with a Polyurethane finish. For a work bench you want to work hard on, glue or epoxy on top of it, possible do some hammering on, or basically abuse I have been using plastic laminate on my work benches for years and they have held up very well. I can scrape glue and epoxy off them if needed and clean them up pretty easily and they don't need refinishing occasionally like a brushed on finish...
Sheet metal is also great in at least 12 guage, but has drawbacks. Metal bench tops can react with some finishes, leave marks on your wood, rust, and doesn't play well with putting nice projects on at times... For heavy duty projects, though like metal working it can't be beat...

By the construction, it sounds like it will be for heavy work

I have a friend who is a pro cabinet/furniture maker and he uses plain old paraffin applied with a heat gun. I never asked him why.

I had one log ago with a sheet of Masonite lightly nailed on. It was pretty durable, but easy to replace. When I moved into this house 36 years ago, the work bench in my furnace room became my reloading center, It had linoleum already on it - and it still does today. Darn stuff simply lasts forever but I admit it isn't subject to hammering and stuff.

I used boiled linseed oil on mine..... it's what I had. It works ok but it's just a work bench.

My rolling work bench has a scrap piece of (40 X 72?) 3/4 inch, once driven on and cracked, plywood on top of it. It is finished with oil, gas, diesel, paraphine, epoxy, acetone, paint, gun oil, Hoppes (etc) , beer (from back in the day), soda, coffee, tea, water, and I think the puppy pissed on it one time... It's decorated with broken off, sanded flush nails or screws, , welding spatters, maybe an acid etching or two.

It's gonna last forever.

My regular work bench is topped with some salvaged galvanized metal from when they took my old furnace out. If I'm working on something nice - well, at least nicer than my guns, but I do that for them too, just on principal, but then I have a low bar... - , I top it with shop clothes, or carpet samples or scraps for padding.

My epoxy garage floor finish has held up well, considering the abuse - probably work great on a less abused bench

Archeologists will one day find that and say, WTF?

We have used BONA, for countertops and floors. Seems ok, haven't had any long term tests. If its wood its gonna require some maintenance, epoxy works good and have used the pour on type. Which works/looks good and meant for bar tops, particularly when one wants to encapsulate coins, Pics, maps, condoms, etc.

I built one for my Pa , 15 years ago. The top is 3/4 inch MDF and several coats of poly. Has held up fine to oils and all the other junk!

For the garage where I do mechanical and machine work I covered the 2 x 6 bench top with a piece of 1/8" steel with one bend for the front. Works great.

For a gun and hobby work table in the basement I use a piece of 3/4" plywood with 4 or 5 coats of spar varnish. I put a piece of cardboard on top if I'm doing something that can scratch or damage it. It's a work bench...

Spar urethane, multiple coats over stain is what I put on my loading bench. Looks good and holds up fine for associated oils and stuff. The clear poly and acrylics will probably wear better with hard use as mentioned above.

It is a table on castor wheels with leveling blocks for mostly reloading an gun work

I used this stuff about 7 years ago on a 2 foot deep long work bench of birch plywood, oak trim. Pleasant to work with being water based I followed a hand rubbed rifle stock type treatment using 0000 steel wool to wipe it in really well. Then wipe any excess lightly with a shop towel and let cure. It dries quick so you can build up coats fairly quick I probably put 8 or 10 on, the same treatment repeated. Its lasted well you can see fine scratches in the finish if you look close in good light but looks great from 4 feet away. lol It would be easy to lightly scuff sand and add some more coats to make it perfect if wanted. Disclaimer- I put cardboard down if I'm working on something steel, heavy with sharp edges. But other than that I work right on the bench lots, its held up better than I would have thought.

Also, the first coat makes wood fibers stand up like any treatment so I sanded with 220 I think after the first coat. No sanding after that, the steel wool and wiping off excess keeps it building nice and smooth without sanding. So I had that goin for me. ..

^^^^ This

I've got one bench I covered with a 3/4" dense rubber sheet, easy to clean and doesn't damage parts. But depends on what you want to use it for.

Phil

This is a good solution - easy to install and to replace if need be. I have two benches so covered and they work as Rocky described. I keep both a sturdy steel plate and a Delrin plate handy to put on the surface when I need to hammer, cut or grind something.

Have also used the epoxy floor paint mentioned by others - worked great.

Use formica can be picked up usually cheep if a corner is broken from most retailers....will holdup to just about any chemical....cleans up easy and looks good....

I used Masonite because my Great Uncle was a engineer for them and I got it for free....about 25 years ago picked up for almost free a 10' x 3' x 2 1/2" with rounded corners panel with formica on it been the top of my reloading table it has a 3" x 3" x 1/4" tube frame...

Looking for small dark gun parts on a dark, mottled surface is a pita. Last thing I would do is stain it. At this point I would either bleach or pickle it as light as possible and use clear gloss, water-based urethane or polyurethane.

Hunting for small pieces on a light colored surface is far easier especially when it is easier to see the shadow.

So you have a sheet of plywood sitting on top of two 2x10?

If it were me, and I'm going to do this with mine pretty soon, I'd by some pieces of 1/16 - 1/8" steel to mount the big boy press on, otherwise that plywood will eventually fail. I'd recess the steel into the plywood, paint it white, and cover the whole thing with epoxy. I have three old C-H presses. Two singles and a three position one. I first mounted it straight to my two layers of 3/4" plywood. First time I tried sizing some 7x61 from 7mm Mag the table was flexing. Added the steel, no more problems. Good luck.

https://www.youtube.com/c/BlacktailStudio This guy does some pretty amazing stuff with epoxy and a ceramic coating. It's the path I'm planning to go down with mine when I find time to clean it off.

Deft looks promising for my workbench

Horse stall mats.