What mat do you have for desk?

[Luanne]

I made a mistake of painting my (normal size ) craft laminate table without priming first. As expected, it's peeling now. The top of the table is plain white. 

i think I have to sand it down and prime it to do this correctly.  It's a big task. 

i considered Con-tact paper, it's as thin as normal paper. 

I am considering these choices to fix it: self adhesive washable wall paper or a short term solution of getting some type of a mat to put on top of the table. Is  that mat just another temporary solution that will have to be fixed again later? What do you use for your mat for your desk? Any ideas ? Thanks. 

[L Swearengin]

work space or miniature desk?  when the spouse built my workspace we put a sheet of white plexiglass over the mdf.  I love it.

[chapchap73]

We have used the stick-on floor tiles on top of a piece of masonite cut to fit whatever desk we had at the time.  The tiles are quite sturdy (made to walk on after all) and the masonite is fairly cheap. I think they call it hardboard at Home Depot.

[KathieB]

At times I've used large pieces of corrugated cardboard from appliance/tv boxes to protect the table top. I generally put down a generous piece of freezer paper as a work surface, paper side up. The plastic side keeps paint from seeping through to the table top and it can be replaced when it gets too full of glue and/or paint. And it's a handy place to jot notes to myself as I work.

[havanaholly]

I have two workbenches, neither one has a mat.  I do assembly at the short bench, which is a workbench base DH made me that used whatever plywood I was going to landscape later for the dollhouse that sat on it; but since then we put the dinette table top from the old RV on it and I just wipe off glue & paint stains.

[Luanne]

Thanks guys. I am waiting for answers from Home Depot and Lowes as well. I see Staples has some desk mat.  Bad planning! Argh! 

[sparklepuppies]

I used to use my dining room table to work on. I had a protective cover made for tables, then my table cloth, then an old sheet. Sometimes I also got a plastic tablecloth protector to cover that. After a few houses worth of paint and several exacto blade slices, I could replace it, and wash the sheet.

[stickyfingers]

I think the solution depends on:what your craft room looks like,how badly do you want to keep the table,and how much time and money are you willing to spend?

Here's my ideas: oilcloth or vinyl tablecloth,peel-n-stick vinyl flooring tiles, or sand it down, prime with a shellac based primer and paint (you'll still need to use something to protect the table when painting, cutting, etc.)

My main craft table is a very old oak dining table that I painted. I use some very thin, cheep "cutting board" mats I found in the housewares section of Walmart. You can't use a craft knife on them, but they're great for painting, because they just wipe clean.   

 

[Luanne]

All good choices - Thanks for thinking about this for me.  I'll do some more research and figure this out.  

[genemini]

I cover my table, a standard folding banquet table from Home Depot, with freezer paper.  I cover it completely including around all edges.  Then in the center where I do most of my painting, staining, and gluing, etc.  I cover  a section with Glad's Presn'Seal.  It sticks without tape.   I change that section whenever I start a new color or a  new  step in my project.  If it gets too messy I change it at any time.  It is very easy and keeps my work space relatively neat and tidy.  As far as the freezer paper covering, when I start a new house I completely replace it.  This works for me.

[annamay]

When it comes to workspace I use a saddleback leather pad. It is more rustic and comes in various sizes from mouse pads to desk pads. The price will vary according to the size of the pad that you buy. It would also look much better if you have some area rugs under the table. I bought a few area rugs ( http://www.surplusfurniture.com/en/calgary-north/accessories/area-rugs/1/ ) from a furniture store. I recently read a couple of benefits of getting an area rug from a blog called the spruce. An area rug will decrease the noise by absorbing the sound from the air. It's a lot more comfortable than a carpet. The softness of the area rug will absorb some of the impact of your footstep thus making it a lot more flexible.  

[shannonc60]

You could just get a large self healing cutting mat. 

[Luanne]

Wow I can tell you've put a lot of thought into this, too.  Thank you so much for the feedback.