If you dress the table with for instance several coats of rock hard yacht varnish it will have a high lustre shine but the reflective qualities of the varnish will just highlight and draw attention to any dents or scratches. If you do decide to varnish, finish off with a matt coat to stop those nasty reflections.
Even with hard varnish on the surface, the wood will still be soft underneath and the problem will not really be solved.
On my pine table in the kitchen I sanded off the original varnish and dressed it with Teak Oil. Wood is still soft but we no longer see the marks. I repeat the process every couple of years.
If your table is in a dining room and you want to keep it looking like a new car in a showroom you will have to use table mats for protection and only take them off for display purposes.
Peccavi, February 2009
