Melamine workbench top

[dmeadow]

I've built a few workbenches in the past that have used 1/8" hardboard as a sacrificial layer. Problem is that it tends to get trashed fairly quickly since liquids soak into it and just about anything will stain it and/or stick to it.

Has anybody tried using melamine as a workbench top? It seems it would be more durable than hardboard and much easier to clean. And not very expensive to replace when it gets trashed.

The workbench would be for all sorts of projects, but mostly car repair with subsequent petroleum-based liquid spills, etc. Is melamine resistant to that stuff?

 

[mmhouse]

Check out this thread....

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=64663

 

[Outlawmws]

It depends, not all Melamine is equal (or at least what the sell as Melamine...).

I have some in my kitchen cabinets as the shelves, and have some water swelling from putting bowls from the dishwasher with a little moisture under the base...

Formica is good to go however... My workbench topped with Formica kitchen countertop is still going strong 25 years later, and has the added benefit of the back splash.

 

[royslead]

The entire hutch and work surface here are similar to melamine, and the assembly is about 18 years old. Although I watch what I do with it, it has held up very well.

 

[mbatarga]

Not melamine - but two of my self built workbench cabinets have formica tops on them. I got a great deal on a slightly damaged top from Home Depot many years ago.

 

[tcianci]

FYI, Formica and other plastic laminates like WilsonArt, Micarta, etc, are melamine. The difference in the melamine panels you can buy is that the melamine surface is minutely thin on the panels. Either surface will stand up to the same chemicals. One poster mentioned that he had some bubbles and delamination on a kitchen cabinet shelf. It was most likely not melamine but vinyl or a paint. Kitchen cabinets, even the "melamine" type tend to use lesser materials on the shelves and the interiors. If you want to use melamine for a worksurface, the only thing that will bite you in the long run is scratching through the melamine surface or puncturing it. For a bench top it should be pretty rugged stuff and easily replaced.

 

[Richard D]

My buddy and just built workbenches from some doors I got from my office building. 8'-9"x3"x1 3/4" thick, some kind of formica type covering over s core of what looks lith some dense engineered wood. Makes a nice work surface(as long as you are not welding!).

 

[IONH]

My work bench has a melamine top. Very durable.

However, I did manage to have a brake fluid bottle tip over and a small amount come out. That ~2" round spot is now puffed up a bit and feels a bit "softer" than the rest.

 

[Falcon67]

I've built a few workbenches in the past that have used 1/8" hardboard as a sacrificial layer. Problem is that it tends to get trashed fairly quickly since liquids soak into it and just about anything will stain it and/or stick to it.

I painted my hardboard top with porch/floor paint. Spills and such wipe right up. That said, as I referred to in the other thread, the commercial grade counter finish is pretty tough stuff.

 

[Zeke]

Great for soft projects. Slippery. I like wood, bare, stained or painted.

 

[dmeadow]

Thanks all. I looked at laminate tops today and I don't think I'll go that way. Too inflexible in size and I don't have the ability to cut the stuff that already has the backsplash and the radiused edge. Not to mention that it was more than twice as expensive as the melamine.

Going to steal this design (starting with post #26):

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=125436&page=2

I'll change a couple of things like doubling the 2x4's on the legs for heavier duty use. I'll also increase the height of the plank on the back edge to create a "backsplash" to protect the wall and keep things from rolling off the back.

What I REALLY like about this design is that the melamine "floats". When it gets messed up you can just pop the old one out, cut a new one and drop it in! I found the hardboard was a PITA to replace because you had to use a lot of tiny screws to make it lay flat.

 

[Falcon67]

FWIW - I used floating hardboard. I put down some little blobs of caulk in the middle and on any edges not tight to the trim. Get one corner loose and it peels right off. Put it together in March of this year and I've had no problem with the hardboard moving, popping up or otherwise being loose. I used no screws to hold it in place.