My instinct is that the poly is a silly idea, unless you want to spend aeons making a yellowing, sticky mess. 19 square feet at a half-inch thick is just under six gallons, and I wouldn't count on the beads saving you much.

The bigger problem might be the relative density of the beads. What if they float? I guess you'd glue them down before the big pour...

If you go ahead with this, I'd build a little sample surface to learn the properties of the materials involved.

You could use a sheet of plexiglass for the substrate, and light the surface from below. Disco bar...

I have used oil based poly as a fill for an artistic effect in routered lettering. It gets very dark and stays dark---the approximate thickness I used was about 3/8". I doubt seriously that you will like the darkness or the resulting surface.

Poly is designed for surface protection in three or so thin coats. Bar top epoxy is designed for surface protection in very thick coats. Seems to me if the cheaper poly works that well, that knowledge would be wide spread.

If you try the Good Ol Boys suggestion----which probably is a wild guess----and it does not work-----you will wind up with more time and mess than doing it right the first time.

An alternative idea: use a router to cut a 1/2" deep map of the French Quarter into some other material, fill the "streets" with beads and epoxy, then top off the whole surface with a thinner coat to even it out?

I seriously doubt the thick poly would work. I tried it once to embed some pressed flowers into some work, and it was a gooey, icky mess for a long time. And pressed flowers are barely 1/8" thick.

I've used the bar-top epoxy stuff and it works really well. But again, .5" thick for 19 sq ft is a little much. You'd almost be better off buying some real glass or plexiglass and mounting it above the beads. Routing the beads into the top like Jon said is a good idea too. Also keep in mind that the epoxy pours on very thick, so if your beads are really tightly packed in then you're going to get a lot of trapped air bubbles.

Thanks everyone. Jon, that is a great idea about making the roads!

Since I last checked in here I finally found a site on the epoxy that said one gallon would cover 1.6 sf, a bit much for a bar that's not gonna be a $$maker. :(

Oh well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. It rained today, so I worked on the bar and now all it's lacking is the top. Lord knows how many "big guys" I'm gonna have to round up to put the bar into place before I get the top! :)

a friend owns a bar. he buys the resin stuff much cheeper than you mentioned--big box? the temp and humidity are important to avoid cloudiness and air movement can cause the surface to become irregular. you may want to look for a bar that has used this kind on material. talk to them. have fun looking. good luck!

i've used a product called Aristocrat many times. it is very expensive but worth it. i would use the router and lay the beads in the channels and then mix and pour the epoxy on top. just make sure it has no where to run through the cracks or over the sides. also make sure it is perfectly level as this stuff is self leveling. dust free and as little air movement is a must too. you can build a tent over it with plastic dropcloths to protect it while drying. you'll also need to check it every ten to fifteen min as air bubbles will form. breath on them or use a blowtorch to break the bubbles. glue the beads down too first. good luck

Ended up using laminate flooring for the top. Found a surplus place that had it for $.59 s/f, so was $13 and change for the box. Went to a 'lounge owners' forum and couple of guys said that it was great as impervious to stains/burns/other bar maladies.

Now that all I have to do is poly the top trim, ya'll are invited down to the warm for a drink!

Thanks for the replies.

Potty... In another life I might have gone with a very expensive but worth it product. As it stands now, I know 6 people and I have a 7 seat bar. Alas, I'll try to make a sign for the wall that says "Gina's Bar" and I'll probably do it on the cheap since not many people will see it. :(