Home built darkroom sink finish recommendation

Andrew A. · Oct 20, 2007

I will be building a darkroom sink shortly and need some recommendations. I want to finish the sink in white paint and seal it with epoxy (probably West System 3 or equivalent) . I am assuming I will need to use an oil-based colour paint. If anyone has done this or has any recommendations it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Andrew

removed account4 · Oct 21, 2007

hi andrew

when i had a plywood sink
it was not painted, but coated it with
fiberglass resin. it got patched it with glass cloth
and resin every few years.
i have a plastic sink now ( different place )
and i am wishing i still had the wood one ...

john

tony lockerbie · Oct 21, 2007

As john says. I had one once that I smoothed out with glass cloth and finished it with fibreglass resin and no paint. Seem to remember it being white or close there to, waterproof and chemical resistant as well.
Tony

Dave Miller · Oct 21, 2007

I think oil paint may effect the bonding of the fibreglass. I have always used white waterbased emulsion paint since this soaks in and leaves a surface to which the resin can bond. Best try is on a scrap section of wood first.

david b · Oct 21, 2007

Have it coated in Line-X. Water proof and good to use in 24 hours.

Curt · Oct 21, 2007

I have heard that Line-X is great for a sink and I think that is what I would do if I had to get a new sink, ie make one myself. I have a factory sink now but I could make a stronger and more useable sink and with Line-X it would be fantastic. You wouldn't have to go through the process either and the fumes and cleanup.

Curt

david b · Oct 21, 2007

I almost had it done. Then I got a stainless sink.

It's a rather amazing material. It bonds to everything immediately and is as tough as it gets. It never leaks and will never need to be redone.

Sparky · Oct 21, 2007

Line-X..? Is that truck bed liner...? I tried and tried and TRIED to get the RHINO people (RhinoLiner) to come out and spray my whole darkroom with that stuff (how great would THAT be...?) - but they told me they only do vehicles... totally ridiculous... they could have a whole other industry going if they wanted to (thinking: chem labs, clean rooms, etc..) - but what's funny is that the arizona branch was totally supportive about the idea... but not the local guys...!

Sparky · Oct 21, 2007

Epoxy paint would be the logical finish for and epoxy sink - I would think...! If anyone else wants to do it - just check out any online resources for fibreglas aquarium construction... that would be the very best way to do it... since you can be assured of proper construction and the highest chemical resistance possible.

david b · Oct 21, 2007

The Line-X guys here in my town were willing to do it if I brought them the sink. No big deal really. And Line-X is the same as the RhinoLiner stuff.

Curt · Oct 21, 2007

The Earl Scheib, sp?, near my house put up a sign this week stating that they do sprayed lining, it's not Line-X but for a sink that might be all right.

Curt · Oct 21, 2007

You could check into stainless steel liner.

richard ide · Oct 21, 2007

When you get paint mixed in a paint store, the pigments they use are suitable for both oil and waterbase paints. I think you can add this to your epoxy resin with no problem; but I would phone the manufacturer just to be safe. Tinting your resin will mean that you never have to paint it. The pigment would be more expensive than paint but would be worth the extra effort. Asking for a sample to test sometimes works.

matti · Oct 21, 2007

You can mix white pigment in epoxy.
/matti

Troy Hamon · Oct 21, 2007

I just use a laundry tub. Next to the laundry tub, I put in a heavy-duty sloping bench made out of a massive, thick door. I used extra lineoleum, yes, that cheap stuff you put on floors, to cover the bench and the backsplash. I put a little one-inch lip around the front and upper end of the bench with trim wood. I sealed the corners with silicone, then painted the wood a million times (might be an exaggeration) with regular old latex paint. It has worked great. The laundry tub works for the actual washing and mixing. For the rest of my wet work space, I don't really need a sink, just a surface that can handle water and wet chemicals. Good luck and happy sinking.

Deane Johnson · Oct 21, 2007

Sherwin-Williams has an amazing number of coatings. A few years ago I painted a plywood sink with a paint they had for dairy barns that needed a hard cleanable surface. It worked very well. They now make a number of specialized paint products that withstand water and chemicals.

If I were building a sink today, I'd visit a a large Sherwin-Williams store with the thought of getting their help for the best possible product based on what's currently available.

I used the epoxy resin and fiberglass approach in one darkroom and it worked well, but kind of a mess to apply. The paint was so much easier, and after a period of time when it got stained, I just added another coat.

Monophoto · Oct 21, 2007

My plywood sink was primed using an ordinary oil-based primer. Then, I applied five coats of two-component glossy epoxy paint. The paint dealer tinted the epoxy a battleship gray color.

After about twenty years, I decided that the sink needed refinishing. I sanded it and repainted it with a latex primer, and then applied a coat of one-component epoxy paint. This paint is a semi-gloss paint, and looked nice initially, but it doesn't seem to be as hard as the original two-component stuff.

dpurdy · Oct 21, 2007

If you decide to go with the epoxy resin I would do that straight onto the plywood and make sure the plywood is very clean.

matti · Oct 21, 2007

I forgot. Paint both sides if using plywood. Otherwise it will warp.
/matti

TracyStorer · Oct 25, 2007

Your resin supplier should have tints to mix in with the resin. I used marine epoxy from Tap Plastics and mixed in the grey tint, it looks good. (except for the untinted bullnose edge I added for comfort when leaning on the edge of the sink)

Valerie · Oct 25, 2007

jnanian said:
hi andrew

when i had a plywood sink
it was not painted, but coated it with
fiberglass resin. it got patched it with glass cloth
and resin every few years.
i
john

This is what I have as well..... darn near indestructible!

removed account4 · Oct 25, 2007

Valerie said:
This is what I have as well..... darn near indestructible!

marine plywood works the best, kind of expensive, but it is worth it!

--john

mtbbrian · Oct 25, 2007

Whatever you end up doing please post pics and information on how and what you did!
I am considering building a sink for my darkroom to be too.
Good Luck!
Brian

matti · Oct 25, 2007

jnanian said:
marine plywood works the best, kind of expensive, but it is worth it!

--john

I think that would be unnecessary. A darkroom shouldn't have a moist atmosphere like a bilge in a boat has. And epoxy will give enough protection from water and chemicals. Just skip fir if you want the surface to be fair later as the annual rings will always show through any kind of paint over fir plywood. Here in Sweden I would choose birch plywood and just check the ends for voids.

/matti

Wilbur Wong · Oct 25, 2007

You can finish this to many different levels. Perhaps the highest approach would be to coat it with polyester resin and fiberglass. If you have a Tap Plastics available to you, they can give you excellent help and free literature using these type products. They will have epoxy coatings as well as reinforced fiberglass products. (They also have an online presence)

For a lifetime durability coat your wooden sink with catalyzed resins and embed fiberglass cloth into it, 2 maybe 3 layers. The cloth comes in different thicknesses and finesses you'll use the finer sheets as your final layer.

Be aware that there are several types of resins, some are best used in beginning layers and others in top coats. A basic difference could be their sandability AND you will need to sand between coats if you want to have a smooth (er) finished surface. I always finished to just about dead flat.

The advantage of several layers of fiberglass reinforcement might be that any wooden construction is subject to dimensional change due to moisture changes in the wood. In plywood it is probably limited to 1 to 2 percent linearly (solid woods could range up to 7 or 8 percent across grain.)

The biggest problem would be differential dimension change which causes curving of the wood. The result could flex the corners and cause cracking of your non-reinforced corners and lead to leaks.

Good luck with your project

Home built darkroom sink finish recommendation

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