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For dad's Christmas all I need is a good seal/clearcoat

Hello all! I am redoing an older laminate top shuffleboard table for my dad for Christmas and have gotten it to the point of clearcoating/finishing...I think. I painted the playing surface with gloss white latex valspar paint, and used the same paint for the lines/curling stencils. However, I used a Rust Oleum paint pen to outline and highlight the custom decals I painted on the surface as well. The advise I got from the local paint help downtown said to use rub on poly and wouldn't matter what kind of paint I used prior. So, as always "measure twice, and cut once," I tested the poly over the paints used before slapping the rub on poly all over my 4 month project. All the other paints did fine under the rub poly but the pen was a runner. So here's my question(s)...
1. Do I need an acrylic/h2o poly to avoid the paint pen runs?
2. I have see many new shuffleboard tables with like 1/2 inch of some plastic top/seal and does anyone know what that is and how I can learn more? I'm sure it's an epoxy specialized for manufacturers in the industry but I'm open to being wrong here and finding out more about how I might incorporate the same. I will be giving this to my old man at Christmas so as always, any bones you can throw my way in a hail mary play here would be more than appreciated.

Cheers,

Cliff

Cliff Head
Shuffleboard beginner and life-long hunter - Centralia, Missouri, USA
December 19, 2010