garage porn?

[mro]

preference on paint

Used to be (might still be) a company in LA area called Epmar.
They made epoxy coatings. Since you can NOT buy the epoxy that used to last for ever these guys are next best. Available in several colors and they would even custom make a color for large orders.

Concrete floor coatings will only hold up if you do a proper prep job.
Otherwise a year later and you will wish you hadn't even tried.

mro

[jmnjrpa]

+1

MRO is on the money with that. Any oil will give you major grief.

[crazy steve]

I don't know about you fellas, but my work bench is going to be made from 3/8" thick steel plate. with a box beam frame beneath. I want something you can really pound on. With a steel bench, you can weld on it as well. As an added bonus, you don't have to worry about solvents breaking it down. Thats my dream bench anyway.

Be careful what you wish for....

I had a steel-topped bench, and never again. That steel surface will prove to be tougher than many of the parts you'll have on it, and dropping/sliding items on it will damage them (amhik). Wood is a much more forgiving surface, even if it does tend get torn up over time. Not that steel doesn't have it's place; I now have a seperate steel welding table.

'78E original owner

[jwhughes3]

Ditto on the masonite

I use it on all bench tops. It's cheap to replace if needed or just bolt a new one on top and keep going.

John

[crazy steve]

...Concrete floor coatings will only hold up if you do a proper prep job.
Otherwise a year later and you will wish you hadn't even tried.

mro

+2 on that. You can coat a old floor, as I've seen it done, but the cost! I saw an outfit do an aircraft hangar, and the 'prep' was a huge self-contained (4' x 5' x 4' high) powered sandblaster that blasted the floor, sucked up all the sand/debris without letting any escape, and recycled the sand to do it again. Travel speed was about 3' per minute. IIRC, the finish was about $60 per sq foot...

'78E original owner

[xs11jack]

RPGoerlich, After seeing the bikes, the fishing gear, I am Green with envy, Oh, wait, does that mean that algore will give me an attabboy??? As for Hobbyman, the burning question in my mind is: How much is that 3/8 inch steel plate going to weight and how will you get it up on the bench legs????
Ole Jack

[HobbyMan]

As for Hobbyman, the burning question in my mind is: How much is that 3/8 inch steel plate going to weight and how will you get it up on the bench legs????
Ole Jack

Its easy. Just weld on the bench legs and frame with the plate laying on the deck upsidedown. Go buy a 6 pack and invite a few friends over to help you flip it over. And yes crazy steve, two benches would be preferred.

[Montreux_Blue]

[b.walker5]

.. any preference on paint for the floor I am thinking red so I can find stuff when it sproings

Doesnt matter what colour you paint it because anything small and important dropped is gonna get eaten by the mysterious "Small and Important Parts Eating Monster" that will take up residence under your bench... I've never seen or heard it but it's there, and it's spectaculalry fast. In my garage it generally eats things before they hit the ground.

[GARTHXS]

I don't think the wifely will approved.

[mro]

Garage Floor

the 'prep' was a huge self-contained (4' x 5' x 4' high) powered sandblaster that blasted the floor

That’s a machine called a Blast Trac, made from hand held models up to one you drive over the floor. As a side line to my regular business I’ve coated a few industrial floors and car dealerships lube bays. Applying the epoxy was easy; prepping the floor was a total pain. Personally would not paint or coat my garage. Would become one of those things that will need to be redone every couple of years. Recoating a properly painted/coated floor tho is relatively easy and takes about ¼ the time as the first one.

Actually I've carpeted all my garage floors. Used to be where my pool table sat
Sucks big time not having a shop anymore

mro

[crazy steve]

...Personally would not paint or coat my garage....

Actually I've carpeted all my garage floors. Used to be where my pool table sat

Coating a floor will really depend on what you plan to do on/over it. For regular maintainence/light mechanical work, it would probably hold up ok. But do any heavy-duty wrenching or cutting/grinding/welding and you'll quickly badly damage the coating. Metal chips from drilling/machining will make a mess of it too.

Carpet... heh heh. My oldest kid thought that would be great. Right up until it caught fire while he was doing some exhaust repair. He narrowly avoided a disaster...

'78E original owner