Darkroom sink plans

[Chuck P.]

I used this to coat my sink, it has done wonderfully, but nothing wrong with the west systems for sure......

[welly]

Amazing response, thanks all!

[Ian David]

Interesting...
Those of you who are recommending West Systems epoxy on plywood: I gather that for this application it would be sufficient to just use the 105 resin + hardener as the final surface (i.e. no need to finish with varnish or polyurethane paint or similar)?

Many thanks
Ian

[vinny]

Interesting...
Those of you who are recommending West Systems epoxy on plywood: I gather that for this application it would be sufficient to just use the 105 resin + hardener as the final surface (i.e. no need to finish with varnish or polyurethane paint or similar)?

Many thanks
Ian

No paint, epoxy does need to be coated for outdoor use though. You can use powdered tints if you desire a color.

[bob carnie]

What vinny said

I never painted over the West, this stuff is great , I have taken apart and put back together my sink a few times, another layer of West and I am good to go.

someone mentioned getting the sink in doors , I agree put the sink unit on a platform that can be broken down if required.

No paint, epoxy does need to be coated for outdoor use though. You can use powdered tints if you desire a color.

[Ian David]

Thanks vinny, bob
I have a nice big plywood sink that I built 2 years ago. I was just starting to investigate possible coatings when new baby arrived and darkroom construction went off the rails. The West stuff looks to be readily available around here, and I now have a bit more breathing space. From a coverage guide I saw, it looks like 1L of 105 resin should almost do the job, so the cost is pretty reasonable too.

Cheers
Ian

[Martin Courtenay-Blake]

Whilst I don't have one myself I have seen large sinks in a number of darkrooms constructed from ply with a couple of layers of fibreglass and epoxy. As long as the wooden construction is appropriately braced and supported it should last for a very long time. If you don't use a gel coat or filler/colour in the epoxy the fibreglass goes almost completely transparent which is nice if you want the wood detail to show through.

[vinny]

Whilst I don't have one myself I have seen large sinks in a number of darkrooms constructed from ply with a couple of layers of fibreglass and epoxy. As long as the wooden construction is appropriately braced and supported it should last for a very long time. If you don't use a gel coat or filler/colour in the epoxy the fibreglass goes almost completely transparent which is nice if you want the wood detail to show through.

yeah, that's messier (unless you're experienced w/it) to do and the fiberglass is not necessary if the proper plywood and methods of construction are used. Now boats on the other hand.......

[Ian David]

When I was looking at coatings last time, I asked a boatbuilder down at the local chandlery. He was pretty convinced that I should be using fibreglass as well as the epoxy and building out the internal corners into beautiful smooth curves, etc. I am now glad that I didn't go down that road - more expensive, messier, and unnecessary according to the comments here. I think he thought I wanted a sink that would be holding lots of water, rather than just a water-resistant channel for holding trays and washing things off...

[Scott Walker]

When I was looking at coatings last time, I asked a boatbuilder down at the local chandlery. He was pretty convinced that I should be using fibreglass as well as the epoxy and building out the internal corners into beautiful smooth curves, etc. I am now glad that I didn't go down that road - more expensive, messier, and unnecessary according to the comments here. I think he thought I wanted a sink that would be holding lots of water, rather than just a water-resistant channel for holding trays and washing things off...

If your sink springs a big leak in the middle of a printing session it will suck a bit, however if your boat springs a big leak in the middle of the ocean it will suck alot.