Bottle Cap Table Top

[terralynn]

Beer Caps were not my first choice, but being in college has provided me with this plentiful material!

http://www.dunham-tech.com/wenwei/BeerCapTable2.jpg
I hope you enjoy my first post!
 
I bought an inexpensive table and took a trip to the hardware store for some plaster and a container of Acrylic Latex Tile Mortar and Grout - the kind with NO SAND: it will scratch your bottle caps.

The process is simple:
Fill bottle caps with plaster and let them dry a few days. (You now have tiles)
Roughen the table surface and spread a layer of mortar on top, placing the 'tiles' where you want them.
Let dry according to package directions. (usually overnight)
Spread layer all over the top and into the spaces between.  Wipe off the tiles themselves and let dry a few days.
DONE!

This was a housewarming present for a friend of mine. He and his girlfriend love it!  (At least thatís what they told me!)

http://www.dunham-tech.com/wenwei/BeerCapTable1.jpg

[Rain349]

 
Filling them with PLASTER!!!!    Such a simple solution for an issue that has plagued me for a while. I posted a very very similar idea before..   the table looks amazing, I love the design, it looks fantastic.   I wonder if you could tint the plaster a different color?    does the actual table have a recess on the top?      ::envisioning wall o' bottle caps::       i am giddy with excitement.  

[terralynn]

Use concrete tint to change the color, at least that is what the guy at the hardware store told me.  I almost did, but I decided I liked the white after all.

No, the table is not recessed at all.  I have heard of building up 1/2-inch sides around a square table, but I didn't want to bother with a round table as you could imagine!  I was worried that the tiles would slide off somehow, but I made it about 4 months ago and it is still in one piece.

[AnnaReilly]

Very cool! I've been saving bottle caps for awhile now to make some type of a mosiac out of them. You've got me all inspired to get started on my project!

BTW - You can also tint grout with acryllic paint.

[thecynthesizer]

That is completely awesome.  I have a question though?  Why do you have to fill the bottle caps with plaster?  Why can't you just press them into the mortar?

[HardCandy63]

hum....yea i thnk you prolly could just press them in..you might get air bubbles under the caps but who cares?? They are under the caps. Hum.

[terralynn]

I fill the caps with plaster because you will get air bubbles, it is easier to dent the caps and they don't stick as well.  I know this because my first bottle cap project was made with hollow caps.

[senor coconut]

Cool. I have been saving those polished stones you can get from tourist traps (I live in FL. I can't throw a tourist without hitting a tourist trap), you know, the kind that you can "fill the bag for $3.95!!! (you'd be amazed at how many stones you can cram in there)" and I want to do something similar to your table.

[sallysparks]

Wow. Wow is all I can come up with. I love this idea almost as much as I love beer. Thank you for the great photos and instructions. You rock!

[Kodama]

I have been saving bottlecaps for a table top, too, and wasn't sure how to go about it. I wanted to make a sun and moon mosaic, because I have lots of blue, silver and gold caps. This has my brain working - THANKS!