Flooring Tile - beer cap table top

A question please,

my daughter in law (so to speak) has a project.

basicaly it is this, she would like to have beer bottle caps
as a surface of a side ?? table adhered to the wall.

so, i am thinking that one way to do it is to frame in the area
and then to use thin set?? and place the bottle caps in place,
then come back after drying with a grout of whatever colour,
bringing up the surface level with the top of the bottle caps.

then using ploy to top coat it. applying a few coats and then
buffing out for a nice finish???

what do you think??

thanks for your help.

randal

Fill bottle caps with plaster and let them dry a few days. Roughen the table surface and spread a layer of unsanded acrylic latex grout on top. Place caps where you want. Follow label instructions for drying time. Then, spread layer over top caps and into spaces between. Wipe off excess with damp sponge. Let dry for several days. Seal grout taking care not to get sealer on caps.

i would like to skip the grout sealer step and apply a
finish.

what do you think about pouring or brushing poly over the caps?
maybe, pour poly in and brush out to facilitate levelling.
not more than 16th inch depth?

i do not want to use the "two part" resin finish.

tks.