Posted By: MadMatt
Bench top sealing - 03/15/12 06:34 PM
I'm building a wooden work bench for my garage and was considering using Eastwood trunk paint on the work surface to give some protection against spills and such. Anybody have any thoughts on how well this would work or suggestions for an alternative?
Posted By: 440lebaron
Re: Bench top sealing - 03/15/12 09:51 PM
nice good coat of marine varnish
Posted By: Stanton
Re: Bench top sealing - 03/15/12 10:01 PM
Forget the trunk paint, it washes off with water! In fact, forget about coating it at all ... the last thing you need is paint chips or dissolved paint on your parts. Let the grease and oil from your parts be the treatment. You might also consider a piece of sheetmetal for the top or even a couple of dollar store rubber boot mats - they're ok with oil and solvents and have a nice ridge around them to keep liquids and parts from ending up on the floor (as well as protecting the bench top).
Posted By: 68 Sat
Re: Bench top sealing - 03/15/12 10:36 PM
you might want to try this but i warn you it's addictive.
www.garagejournal.com
Posted By: topside
Re: Bench top sealing - 03/15/12 11:36 PM
Matt, you have multiple options:
Oil the wood surface with the proper furniture oil.
Find a sheet of aluminum, stainless or galvanized metal and screw it to the wood.
Use the vinyl/plastic stuff sold for garage floors.
Paint the surface with a 2-part epoxy or whatever.
Check Home Depot/Lowe's for a sale on counter tops, especially an ordered one that wasn't picked up.
A few lengths of 1/2x1/2 aluminum angle can be used for the edges to keep stuff from rolling off.
The boot-mat idea is probably the cheapest to do.
Posted By: MadMatt
Re: Bench top sealing - 03/16/12 01:11 AM
I was just thinking maybe linoleum or vinyl floor tiles. Any thoughts on that?
Posted By: topside
Re: Bench top sealing - 03/16/12 03:05 AM
Both of those materials gouge fairly easily, seams trap liquids, and they probably won't like solvents, but for something that would be kept clean & dry and not pounded on, peel & stick tiles would work and there are a lot of color options...heck, faux slate would be amusing...all depends on what you're going to use the surface for.
For that matter, think about what's going under the bench before you set a shelf height, or make it adjustable. Start looking for wall cabinets, too, so I don't have to bust your stones when I inspect the place!:)
Posted By: topside
Re: Bench top sealing - 03/16/12 04:00 AM
Leave my sex life outta this. Hey, speaking of sealing, do your floor before the Dart leaks all over it. You preppin' a room for Scollo?
No bare wood, i used 3/4" plywood and put a clear finish on it like polyurethane. With clear just a damp rag wipes up the dust/dirt. Wipe grease/oil rite off. I use old cafeteria plastic trays when working on like a carb or what ever might have chemicals or gas. Bare wood will look like crap once the dust and dirt sits/works into it.
Posted By: 451Mopar
Re: Bench top sealing - 03/16/12 06:19 AM
I glued some really thick floor covering (linoleum?) on the work top. It's really easy to keep clean.
Posted By: hooziewhatsit
Re: Bench top sealing - 03/16/12 05:46 PM
I put some left-over linoleum on the bench at my previous place. Seemed to work pretty well, and not too hard to get clean. It was starting to stain in a few places by the time I moved though.
I may just varathane the next work bench I build
Posted By: LimeliteAero
Re: Bench top sealing - 03/18/12 06:31 PM
I put 1/4" piece of plexiglass on top that I attached with recessed screws and I just swap out sheets of cardboard when needed. always looks fresh.
Posted By: Black_Bee
Re: Bench top sealing - 03/19/12 02:32 AM
I coated my bench tops with roll on truck bed liner. It's really durable and wipes clean. Seems to be chemical resistant too.
One great tip I got when making my benches was to make the top easily replaceable. Use a thin final layer of plywood or OSB that you simply pull off and flip over or replace when it gets too trashed.
Posted By: topside
Re: Bench top sealing - 03/19/12 09:27 PM
Matt, if you go the lino route, you might want to run a molding around the perimeter; keeps things from rolling off, and will keep the edges from curling up. Look for something with an L shape, aluminum, kind of like the old formica tops used to use.
Posted By: feets
Re: Bench top sealing - 03/20/12 03:45 PM
When I was laying out Andrewh's work bench, I picked up a sheet of 14 gauge steel. We cut it to size using an abrasive disc in a circular saw. We left enough overhang to fold it down over the sides. After that, we drilled small holes in it and used button head screws to hold the steel to the sides of the table.
That bench was made entirely out of reclaimed 2x6 lumber and is a BEAST. He'll have to try hard to kill it.
The abrasive disc in a circular saw works great on sheet steel if you keep the blade depth shallow. It cuts pretty fast.
