Durable top coat for MDF worktop / workbench
Honestly, the best option for a bench that expects hard use is a sheet of 1/8&quot; &quot;tempered hardboard&quot; - I don't know if that's one of those places where we are separated by a common language or not. Masonite® is the best known brand name, though they make multiple products so that may not be definitive. You put a trim board sticking up 1/8&quot; (or the thickness of the hardboard you can get, which might be in mm, of course) all around the edges of the benchtop, and the hardboard just drops into the recess (it lays flat very nicely, so it will stay put until you pry it out of there.)
When it's been scarred, burnt or otherwise damaged to the point that it offends, you flip it over for a whole new surface, and when that one offends, you replace the whole thing - the stuff is relatively inexpensive.
You can get it with one side melamine white - otherwise the color is a moderate dark brown, and for most workbench purposes I'd find the melamine a bit hard/slippery.