CD Mosaic Table Top

Hi All,

CDs were invented in 1980s and were very popular for quite sometime. As kid I collected many audio, video and games cds... But with the invention of USB drives and Cloud storage, we no longer use them or even have compatible devices were we can play them...

We all have a pile of old CDs/ DVDs stil dear to us and have not thrown them away... Not sure what we are waiting for .. ?

The table used in this project is from my neighbours, they had that a glass top, but they had replaced glass top twice already, did want want another glass top. We together decided to do a CD mosaic.

In this instructable I will share how to reuse them for a Mosaic table top, really simple, need just few hours to complete.

Hope you like it

Material

• Suitable Table
• PVA glue ( Fevicol )
• 4mm Plywood
• Old CDs or DVDs
• White Cement
• Varnish

• Take boiling hot water in a small bowl
• And dip the CDs in it for 10 minutes, This is needed to use less force to cut the CDs and to keep CDs layers intact
• I choose prewritten CDs and not RW. Pre written CDs are like mirror where as RW CDs have purple shade
• Cut the CDs in triangles and not squares
• These triangles can be on any size, does not have to perfect or same size
• Let the CD pieces dry
• You may have to sort out good pieces and make sure you trim down sharp edges

• This step is optional, as the table I used had a glass top of (362 x 363 mm)
• So I cut a 4mm plywood of the same size
• I have not glued this, so it is easy to work
• If you are using it on the table top directly, cover the table sides it with new paper to protect them from scratches or cement

• Apply pva glue, near the edges and start sticking the CD mosaics
• Do not apply too much of glue, just right quantity to stick the pieces
• Gradually Cover the whole area while moving inwards
• Fill some gaps by cutting mosaics into smaller pieces
• This does not have to be perfectly aligned or in pattern
• Let this dry for 1 hr

• Once the glue is dried, fill the gaps with white cement paste
• You could use grout as well, I had white cement from previous projects, so used it
• Cover the cds and gaps with generous amount to white cement
• Let is dry for 10 minutes and using dame cloth, remove white cement from the CDs
• You may have to wash the cloth to avoid scratches
• Once you are happy and the CDs are clean, wipe with a dry and soft cloth
• Let this dry for 1 hrs, We do not have to dry this for 24 hrs as the cement layer is max 1 mm thickness, it drys out fast

• Once the cement is dry, clean the CDs
• Cover the the surface with varnish and let it dry
• Applying varnish helps in preventing scratches but the reflective surface on the CDs get a bit dull
• Let the varnish dry for 4 hrs
• Place the new table top on the table and we are done

I hope you enjoyed reading this instructables and please share your comments and suggestions