Hi all :)
Apologies, I know this isn't a woodworking question, but I don't know of a better place to ask about restoring a desk like this.
It's an oak desk, but it looks like there used to be a felt inlay, or maybe vinyl. The top of the desk has an inlay of plywood, with a small raised edge to the oak, of maybe 2 - 3mm. Staining or varnishing doesn't seem to be an option, as the style of the plywood doesn't match the rest of the desk, so I'm looking for ideas for the top.
Felt or vinyl would be the obvious options, but I'm hoping to hear some other ideas. It's going to be used as an office desk, with two computer monitors and a keyboard and mouse, but also for writing, mostly notes rather than anything serious.
The underside of the plywood has oak planks running from front to back, so there's the option of removing the plywood and putting in another piece of wood, but I don't want to spend too much if I can help it.
Does anyone have any suggestions or feedback please?
Thanks in advance :)
EDIT: Sorry if I'm a bit slow to reply tonight, I'm having a mad dash to tidy up and make room for the new desk. I've managed to plan everything backwards (again...)
Note for myself - the lip is 1mm and the plywood is 3mm, as best as I can tell without dismantling anything
Glass or metal would probably cost a bit more than I want to spend, considering I would have to get it cut to fit. It's definitely an idea for the future though.
I hadn't thought of neoprene or leather, and it's a great idea, thank you :)
My guess is that originally it would have been something that is good for under a piece of paper that you're writing on. Felt would have been too soft, the pen would punch through the paper. Leather or vinyl, backed with wood, would be perfect for that.
Neoprene wouldn't be a good choice if you're putting monitors on it - it compresses too much and the monitors would be unstable.
I wonder if you could get a sheet of plexiglass the right thickness - either a dark opaque or paint something thin to put under it.
That's a good point, thanks for mentioning it. The top is about 1mm thick, so it would be quite soft too.
Everything I've looked at has either been prohibitively expensive, or won't get delivered for at least a week, so for now I've painted the plywood in a blue that I think contrasts the wood, and will choose something permanent once my wife is back from her holiday. That gives her the chance to decide too, so when I inevitably make the wrong decision, she can't blame me 😁
Stakeholder buy-in is important!
If the blue looks good (and you've smoothed any edges that stick up) you could try just applying a thick varnish to it - that would probably be a pleasant working surface and should be durable.
That might be the plan, assuming that she likes the desk. I've got some yacht varnish here ready, but didn't want to apply it in case I need to strip it back again :)
The problem with neoprene is that it'll absorb dust, skin cells etc and you'll see a color change really fast. you want to wash a mouse pad every now and then and if its glued into your desk you wont be able to do that. Water will seep through into the wood below if you try and give it any kind of decent wash too.
That's a great point, and one that I hadn't thought about, thanks :)