Oil based floor poly varnish is about as dummy proof as you can get.

But, that is difficult to apply.

Regular oil based varnish would be my choice. Reasons---easy to spot repair, easy to apply, resists food/water/alcohol spills better than other finishes, and comes in various sheens.

Hello, tv. Please allow me to ask a question or two about your table. I have what I think is a regular farm table. But, to be honest, I don't know if it's that or one that was in the smoke house for butchering hogs. I have it in my basement. It is natural wood. It wouldn't look terribly bad if someone had put something under their cans of paint.

The table is 7' long, 39" wide, and 1" thick. Two boards are 14" and one is 11". Back in the WWII days I stayed at the house where I think this table was. It was always covered. It has about a 6" support board running just inside the perimeter of the top. I don't recall busting my knees on it when I was little but maybe that saved me. I have a computer sitting on it now and have to remember things like that. The legs are square. The table sits a little lower than a dining room table of today.

Does that sound like your farm table? Thanks, Gene