Post #692335 by Aloha Daddy on Mon, Sep 2, 2013 9:58 PM

Thanks everyone for the encouraging comments, I appreciate it!

Next I had to work on the bar top, I had the idea to paint it like a surfboard with stripes and stained side panels, so I started by filling in the seam between the boards and any divots in the wood.

I received the woven thatch for the back wall of the bar underneath the roof. I had removed the bamboo screening from the wall in anticipation of putting up the woven material. I also plan on building shelves against the wall to display my tiki collection. I want to have the woven thatch behind the shelves.

I then stained the bar top, I liked the look of the stain, a little on the red side but I like it. I decided against the surfboard concept in favor of another idea I had, memorializing photos of my favorite tiki places and memories on the bar top. I love the idea and started to scan and print all the photos I wanted on the top. My favorite place besides Hawaii is Disneyland and Walt is my hero so I had to have some photos of Walt in the Tiki Room, some concept art for the Tiki Room and the Tahitian Terrace Restaurant. Also I had to have a photo of Don the Beachcomber in Marina Del Rey, where my wife & I were engaged. Some photos from our Hawaiian vacations and a few more all made for a very personal and meaningful bar top.

I then attached a length of bamboo to the edge of the bar top to form a nice edge, I bevel cut the ends and tried to fit them together as best I could. Some matched better than others but overall, it is a great look.

I wasn't sure how to attach the photos without ruining them so I just sprayed the backs with a spray adhesive then attached them to the bar top. I then started to apply one of several coats of clear varithane. The photos started to bubble up and the varithane was reacting to the spray adhesive and basically dissolving it. I ended up having to remove all the photos and had to re-print all of them, oh well, that's how we learn I guess. I found that good old white glue worked best, I used it sparingly and after using the Varithane, it worked just fine. I applied about 8 coats. I would have used a polyester or resin type of sealer but I am building this on a very tight budget so it will have to be Varithane.

This is what the top ended up looking like...and a little sneak preview of the shelves behind! I had something else bad happen that turned out good. I ran out of the stain and had to get more for the shelves. I decided on a stain that was more dark brown and after using it, I liked it so much that I spread some on the bar top to take away some of the red look. it turned out so well that I ended up staining all of the bar top with the brown and liked the look much better. You can see from the photo the end result with the photos and the varithane. I am very happy with how things are shaping up. I'll show you the shelves next.

[ Edited by: Aloha Daddy 2013-09-03 20:33 ]