That IKEA butcher block I got last year still looks brand new after 12 months of daily use
I was at a friend's house yesterday and he was complaining about his desk getting all scratched up from just setting his coffee mug down. It got me thinking about how I spent $120 on a solid wood countertop from IKEA instead of that $50 particle board one. I put three coats of polyurethane on it before I even built the frame. Has anyone else done the extra prep work and felt like it actually paid off down the road?
My buddy did the same thing with his kitchen island and that thing has taken a beating from hot pans and lazy cutting board use. I coated my desk with three layers of clear matte poly and the worst thing that's happened is a little dent from when I dropped a steel water bottle. Honestly feels like that extra day of waiting for coats to dry saved me from buying a whole new desk in a year.