Rock in your wood
Long time readers will remember my coffee table project with the embedded slate tiles. This is a quick follow-up post to let you know how those tiles are working out.
The regular flooring-type slate tiles were washed thoroughly, then brushed carefully with three coats of Minwax Polycrylic. I say brushed carefully, because the rough, natural slate tiles I used have lots of rough spots. If you’re not careful, you’ll get bubbles in the finish if you brush quickly over these. I did three coats and the tiles looked great.
Unfortunately, I then decided to get clever. I was waxing the rest of the table (since it had a shellac finish) and I decided to wax the tiles as well. This was not such a good idea. The wax built up in the crevices and was very noticable. It made the things look dirty. Unfortunately, anything that would have dissolved the wax (alcohol, mineral spirits) would also dissolve the nearby shellac finish and I didn’t want to take any chances. I used good old elbow grease to get rid of the wax.
Wax adventures aside, the tiles are fantastic. They don’t ring when you put drinks on them (their main purpose in life). They haven’t chipped. They look terrific.
Try out some tiles on your next project. You’ll thank me for it.
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