I made the 23′ x 46″ coffee table out of maple for my brother. I glued the top up using a glue up station I built from an article in a Fine Woodworking issue a few years ago My shop is only 10′ by 16 and the glue up station is practically vertical against the back wall. After the table parts were built and sanded, I covered the table top with painter’s tape then drew on my design. I then cut a thin line into the top through thee tape following my design. After removing the tape from everywhere that I wanted blacked out I used aflat black enamel spray can and covered it with a light coat. Idid this 4 times sanding lightly with 220 grit between coats. Then I pulled off the rest of the tape  and finished it with Petri Gel Poly Finish. I rubbed on 12 coats. The flat black really makes the wood and the design pop out of the background.

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