DIY Bottle Cap Table

MAKE THIS: BOTTLE CAP TABLE

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Supplies:

A Bunch of Beer Caps
An Old Table
High Gloss Resin
Polyurethane (optional)
Painters/Duct Tape
Aluminum Foil
Hot Glue

Total Cost: $45 - $50 (Not including the cost of the beer. Think of it as a reward to yourself.)

STEP ONE:

Drink beer! Lots and lots of beer. And before you go judging me, no I didn't drink all of these by myself. I recruited my very responsible, adult friends to help me.

You'll need a vast collection of caps to fully cover your table. Make sure they aren't too rusted and bent out of shape, or you'll just make more work for yourself.

Step Two:

Find a table. You may already have one lying around and if not, thrift stores are good places to start. You can also just buy one or build your own. I found this unfinished table at Goodwill and sanded / stained / coated it with polyurethane for weather-proofing. (Weather-proofing is optional if your table will be indoors.)

Once you have enough caps, you will lay them out on the table to generate your design or hodge-podge.

STEP THREE:

I was going for the whole Chinese Checkers look, and this is what I came up with.

STEP FOUR:

Now time to hot glue them down. I originally was going to hot glue every single one, but I got lazy. So I just did enough to make sure they were all snug.

TIP: Don't skip this step! The resin will make them float and swim around if you do.

STEP SIX:

If you use a table with it's own natural border you can skip this step. My table did not have a border so I had to make one. To make one all you will need is aluminum foil and duct tape.

Fold the foil into long strips. Wide enough so the resin won't spill over the top. The width may vary per table but mine were about 2.5".

1.20.16

STEP FIVE:

Protect your work surface. I used painters tape to mask the areas on the table I didn't want resin on. Including the floor, even if you are working outside. It's just easier for clean up purposes.

STEP SEVEN:

Using duct tape, tape your foil border around your table like so.

STEP EIGHT:

Now it's mix and pour your resin. This is the brand I used, but there are a few to pick from. Follow the instructions that come with your resin of choice and get to pouring.

TIP: I used mixing bowls from the dollar store so I could just throw them away when I was done.

STEP NINE:

Once you pour your resin, it'll look similar to this. Check for any leaks and add more duct tape if needed.

I used (2) 32 fluid ounce boxes. The size of your table will determine how much resin you need.

TIP: If you start pouring the resin and realize that you don't have enough that's ok. You can just add another box or two while it's still wet or even when it dries. Because it's high gloss it won't be cloudy or streaky, but will mix together clear.

STEP TEN:

It's going to take some time for it to completely dry. A little over 24 hours, so be patient. If you can, try to cover it with something so lint, hair, etc. don't get in the mixture.

The dusty crap you see in my picture fell after it was completely dry thank goodness.

STEP ELEVEN:

Once it's totally dry, peel off your man made border (if you had to make one) and you're done! Some areas may be harder to peel off, but you can use an xacto knife to help remove it.

(Look at how thrilled D'OG is in the back lol.)

Beer is made from hops. Hops are plants. Beer=Salad! Thank me later for the geniosity. (I don't think that's a real word.) Now I wouldn't necessarily call myself a hoarder, but I just couldn't bring myself to throw away my beer caps. Especially the cool craft beer ones. So I was like what can I re-purpose these into? A table of course! Now I can drink more beer on my beer table lol.

Enjoy! If you're feeling really adventurous, this tutorial works for bar stools, counter tops, beer pong tables, etc.!

I really like the see through border!