Varnish a CP?

[Benevolance]

Has anyone ever simply varnished the CP top, instead of bothering with acrylic/lexan? Would it work well enough?

[miles2912]

Varnish over a printed overlay?  Most people like pretty printed graphics on thier cp so we use lexan to protect it.  I would imagine that a varnish would trash the graphics.

[Benevolance]

I'm doing a painted overlay, rather than printed.

[javeryh]

I lacquered over paint and sanded the crap out of it for a smooth glass finish.  The paint underneath held up just fine although I did put on A LOT of coats of lacquer...

[ivwshane]

I lacquered over paint and sanded the crap out of it for a smooth glass finish.  The paint underneath held up just fine although I did put on A LOT of coats of lacquer...

Do you have any recommendations on how to make a smooth finish? What did you use to polish it?

I am having one hell of a time getting my stuff to be smooth and glossy.

[dkubarek]

Oil based varnish can yellow dramatically over time but the new stuff isn't too bad. Water-based poly's stay clear longer but both are a bit toxic to paper. (Never tried it for myself, but I bet high quality photo paper would be OK.) If you used poly, I'd go with the spray can kind and do many light coats. I used a can of clear "glaze" from Wal-Mart made for all kinds of stuff including paper, metal and pottery. Advantages: It can be reapplied every 30 minutes, it goes on 3 times at thick, and it is very clear. Possible disadvantage: It might not be as durable. I'm still testing mine. The perfect solution is epoxy, or liquid plastic. This is tough to work with but it's what is used when say, you go into a restaurant and all the menus or coins are sealed to the top of the table. This will form a thick bond on top of the CP and shouldn't harm the paper too much. It heats when it sets, so that might do something. You can literally apply this stuff 1/4 inch or more in one coat. However, it is very expensive. One can is about $50. I think plexiglass scratches easily and looks bad so I might try the epoxy. It gives it a professional furniture look, even if it doesn't conform to the plexi-coated CP style many of us want to mimic. I'll send photos of my CP if you want to see it