Alvar Aalto table top in need of repair  

I actually really like the red!  Both the color and the texture!

Yes those thin tiles that used to be used on bus aisles and in hospitals, found some under my stove last year, not quite pvc but not really lino either, thin hard and brittle, a very hard wearing material.

Yes -- I think those are asbestos tiles, a conglomerate of asbestos and other substances.  The thinner and shinier vinyl tile replaced them . . .both products often seen with a speckled or marbled appearance.
Following  bad news from certain industrial work environments and a subsequent gold mine in "abatement" services,  the world now trembles in fear at the word "asbestos."  Most in-situ installations of asbestos-containing materials are perfectly safe; it is only air-borne fibers that can have any unhealthful effects.

How odd just had a work email related to asbestos, I snapped the tiles, but dont remeber them being fibrous, who knows? Painful death, yay!

I also like the red color and texture. Why don't you drop in a sheet of glass and call it good. 

Well, for one thing, there's a piece chewed out of it . . .
So, the red is paint on top of the burlap underlayer of the former linoleum ? Yum.  

I don't think it is red paint. It seems more like residue from the original linoleum.
I forgot to mention there are also a few bits where they scrapped up small portions of the burlap 🙁
I will post pictures.
Does anyone know the composition of these tables? It is kind of plasticy in the scraped bits.
I hate the idea of throwing any piece of the table away, and really love all of these suggestions! My boyfriend thought I was crazy for wanting take the table home 🙂

I think that's right, marble. The red is what's left of the linoleum still attached to its burlap backing. The plastic-like surface exposed where the burlap has been scraped through is likely either glue used to adhere the linoleum or the surface of the substrate itself. I think that the core is probably plywood, but I don't know. Artek may have used a plywood product known in the US as "MDO" or "Medium Density Overlay" which is simply plywood with resin-impregnated paper face veneers designed to provide a smooth, hard, solvent and water-resistant surface ready for paint, high-pressure laminates, wood veneers, or other coatings. The surface of the underside may offer clues.

If paint will stick (reasonably likely I think, and certainly testable): acquire a bright red spray paint, as near to the color already there as possible.  Mask off the wood edges with masking tape. Spray the whole top uniformly red.  Cover in glass.  Enjoy!

http://www.forbo-flooring.com/Residential-flooring/Products/Linoleum/
Id think about new lino if you can get it thin enough, maybe a different colour.

(clears throat)
model town thing / train set
 
oh boy!

Relevant ?  I don't care !  Let's get closer . . . closer . . . closer . . . . . . .

Have you been on the drain-o I mean soft fruity red again? Ive always wanted to try buidling alien planet landscapes as sets and photographing them but the lenses and focal depth thing is very confusing.
I keep imagining this table with a lime green lino top.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/24796741@N05
https://www.flickr.com/photos/24796741@N05/sets/72157604247242338
If links don't work, copy them into your browser . . .

Heath: just use a pinhole. Then you don't have to worry with lenses or depth of field.