Bar top???

Good day. How would you all recomend doing the top of a bar with stickers , postcards, pics, etc? Just trying to get an didea which would be good and see what other home tiki bars would have. Thanks

Haven't built mine yet, but the plan is to have a sheet of glass or plexi as the bar top. This way you can stick any number of stickers or postcards or art underneath and not have to worry about spillage.

-Joe

My husband Wes is building our Tiki bar now and we are planning to maybe put thatch on the top and cover it with 1/4" plate glass or Lexan. Second idea would be that we have alot of vintage surfing photo's and to place them under the Lexan or plate glass. Plexi glass seems to scratch very easily.
Side note: We are planning to have a 40" fridge slide in the back also.

Have a look at this post

It talks about using two part epoxy to cover the top surface. With that technique you can embed postcards, as well as more 3-D items such as coins, shells, rope, etc.

I'm thinking about using this technique myself, but not for at least another few months.

Have fun and don't forget to post pics!

As I posted before be careful of the glass as it could break and expensive to repair. The epoxy really sounds like a better idea.

[ Edited by: Chip and Andy 2012-05-01 20:29 ]

On 2005-08-04 05:13, Chip and Andy wrote:

And, here is tip for any of the above bar tops.... Don't put original postcards and the like under/in your bar tops. If you have doubles, then go for it. If not, take the items down to your local copy shop and have color copies made. Once you get them under the , or embedded in the resin (use card stock), no one will ever know they are copies. And, you can keep the originals safe and display them elsewhere in your home or bar.

That is a great idea- It always disappoints me to see certain collectibles preserved under epoxy...

Jamie,

I plan to use two-part epoxy on my bar top (probably surf board epoxy since it dries nice and clear). I am going to put vintage surfing pictures and post cards (replicas) under the top and cover the sides with bamboo with an inlay of atomic-tiki or tapa-style fabric if I can find any.

If you use the epoxy make sure you do it outside. It stinks because it uses methyl-ethyl ketone (finger nail polish remover) as a curing agent. Although it is not all that hazardous to your health it is very stinky. Also, since you already have an umbrella on your porch try to do the epoxy layup under the umbrella and move the umbrella afterwards. Sunlight will speed the curing process.

Since nobody responded to my previous post for this question I will repost it here. Is there a coating that can be applied that would prevent the sun from fading printed materials which are used in a bar like this outdoors?

Surftiki, I don't know about UV sealants, but a thatched roof might do the trick, and it sure looks nice!

[Qoute]Side note: We are planning to have a 40" fridge slide in the back also.[/Qoute]
I am going to do the same. Put a little clear fridge under the bar like the wine fridges you see these days. You all have a great ideas, how does using clear laquer sound? I really like to use glass, but yes it can be expensive. But I like the idea of removing or installing new pics,stickers, postcards, etc under the glass. How hard would it be to put glass on the top and how about doing it? Thanks guys.

This how you can do the top with glass/lexan. Make an exact cardboard template of the top or you can make it on your glass/lexan then cut it out. Or you can lay the glass on the top and cut it free hand. Any glass shop can make it for you in 1/4" plate. Have them buff the edges so you won't get cut when installing. Just remember when transporting the glass always keep it vertical. Wes plans on having a bamboo edge around the top so the glass slides under the bamboo lip.
The main reason we are using glass is so we can change the pictures around. Plus I know he will get tired of it and end up selling it. He always does.
Annie

Good way to go Moondance, I like the glass idea. Do you cut your bamboo in half and put around the edges of the top of the bar? Then just slide the glass in place, how would you keep it from moisture and spills from getting under the glass and on the pics, stickers, etc?

No not in half, cut 1/4 of the bamboo out so the bamboo comes around the edge and down on the glass. It's funny we don't drink at all yet were into Tiki bars.
I saw a tiki bar today at a small local hardware store made of PVC. It was painted to look like bamboo. Yikes!
Annie