Desktop Resurfacing

[Cataracts]

I'm thinking about resurfacing my old, beatup wooden desk with a material that will double as a good surface for an optical mouse. Anyone have suggestions as to what I could use? I saw a thread where a user made mousepads out of sheet metal and Cerrakote, but that seems too costly a solution for an entire desk. I was thinking perhaps using wood laminate sheets or sanding and restaining with a clear epoxy, but I'm not very experienced with finishing wood. Any craftspersons or woodworkers with opinions?

Here's the material as it is now, with several dents, scratches, and holes.

[nugglets]

I'm thinking about resurfacing my old, beatup wooden desk with a material that will double as a good surface for an optical mouse. Anyone have suggestions as to what I could use? I saw a thread where a user made mousepads out of sheet metal and Cerrakote, but that seems too costly a solution for an entire desk. I was thinking perhaps using wood laminate sheets or sanding and restaining with a clear epoxy, but I'm not very experienced with finishing wood. Any craftspersons or woodworkers with opinions?

Here's the material as it is now, with several dents, scratches, and holes.
(Attachment Link)

I have no idea what a suitable material for a mousepad would be in this case, but maybe if the metal/Cerrakote works you could just use it in one area instead of over the whole surface? Might look kind of cool, too, having a built in mousepad in an otherwise nicely refinished wood surface.

[OfTheWild]

laminate counter tops work too.

[Cataracts]

I have no idea what a suitable material for a mousepad would be in this case, but maybe if the metal/Cerrakote works you could just use it in one area instead of over the whole surface? Might look kind of cool, too, having a built in mousepad in an otherwise nicely refinished wood surface.

I was considering doing just that. That is, just leaving one area to be used for mouse tracking, but I'm not so sure if it would look nice or not. I'm going to the hardware store today to pick up a few sheets of wood lamenate and posting an update after I apply them. Here's the v current state of the desk.

[Data]

Any uniform matte surface should work fine with an optical mouse.  I guess "uniform" isn't as important as "matte", but you get the idea.  Highly reflective/glossy and transparent are generally no-go.  Cerakote tends to be a very matte finish which is why it worked well in the application you mentioned.  But it's not unique from any other spray-on coating in that regard.  Just regular old matte Krylon will do that.  The advantage of Cerakote is its vastly superior wear cycles -- it's pretty much the best in the business, at least for consumer-level application.

I'm not sure if any of that helps you.  Just felt like sharing.

I'd probably start by just deep sanding the surface you currently have and then go from there.  You could stain and finish the wood and it would serve just fine for mousing.  Any idea what type of wood it is?

[xtrafrood]

Some sanding and a good oil sealant finish would look amazing on most woods

[Cataracts]

Some sanding and a good oil sealant finish would look amazing on most woods

Any uniform matte surface should work fine with an optical mouse.  I guess "uniform" isn't as important as "matte", but you get the idea.  Highly reflective/glossy and transparent are generally no-go.  Cerakote tends to be a very matte finish which is why it worked well in the application you mentioned.  But it's not unique from any other spray-on coating in that regard.  Just regular old matte Krylon will do that.  The advantage of Cerakote is its vastly superior wear cycles -- it's pretty much the best in the business, at least for consumer-level application.

I'm not sure if any of that helps you.  Just felt like sharing.

I'd probably start by just deep sanding the surface you currently have and then go from there.  You could stain and finish the wood and it would serve just fine for mousing.  Any idea what type of wood it is?

Thanks for the advice! I'm starting to lean towards either just a regular wood refinish or coating with matte Plasti-dip.
I just came back from my run around the local hardware stores. Unfortunately they don't carry rolls of wood laminate like they used to (the clerk said they tend to crack and wear while in storage). Thank goodness, though, I came home to see your posts before I went online and ordered some. I'll look into it for now.