Tried googling no luck. Is there anyway to treat wood in a similar fashion to the laboratory counter-tops?
Is that some kind of epoxy, or is that not really feasible for at home?
Any ideas to make a non-absorbant, non-reactive table-top without shelling out hundreds of dollars?smaerd - 27-1-2010 at 16:04
Did some more research and I found out it is an epoxy. It's called Chemical Resistant Laminate or epoxy. Can't quite seem to find it for sale just
yet. Will report back if I do!Magpie - 27-1-2010 at 16:10
The people who make Formica make same in a black sheet for lab tabletops. They sent me a sample once. You'd probably have to buy it in 4'x8' sheets.
Something easier would be to get a kit at Home Depot of 2-part epoxy paint for refinishing bathtubs, etc.smaerd - 27-1-2010 at 16:19
Thanks for the advice .
I figure if I am going to set up a legit lab for exploration and research I want everything to be as safe as possible!
Thanks again time to do more research haha.psychokinetic - 28-1-2010 at 00:34
I currently use a marble-top for such things.
Is this a bad idea?Picric-A - 28-1-2010 at 06:00
Would marble not dissolve when it comes into contact with the weakest acids?
A vinyl cover to a table (vry cheap) should be effective and possibly disposable.bahamuth - 28-1-2010 at 06:13
One of the teachers I had years ago told me that in his days (probably around the sixties) they had wooden table tops on the labs and that once a year
they sent them for planing.
One problem i see is that if one would work with extremly toxic stuff that it would penetrate the pores of the wood and leach out over time. Another
one is if one works with extreme oxidizers, that it might start to burn.
But of the materials I have been working with, wood has the highest resistance against solvents, acids and bases that I know of.
Just a cheap suggestion, most likely not the best.
PS. Polypropylene plates is not that hard to find, it can also be hot air welded, heated and bent and resists virtually anything; backsides, not very
heat or scratch resistant.Magpie - 28-1-2010 at 09:57
My workspace is 304 stainless steel - in the hood only. Otherwise I have a wood bench covered with newspapers. Not very professional, but very
practical.
Edit: Also see Formica's laboratory grade 840/LGP. Formica sent me a free sample of this. Nominal thickness is 1mm. It comes in sizes 4'x10' and
5'x12'. It is specified as: 840-Black-12/LGP-58 matte. There is a technical data sheet for this. 1-800-367-6422.
[Edited on 28-1-2010 by Magpie]smaerd - 28-1-2010 at 10:51
Thanks for the link & information!
It's a shame they require a company name to order samples. I wish at home chemistry exploration was more understood and respected.
I'll figure something out!psychokinetic - 28-1-2010 at 11:56
Good point, Picric-a. I should really have thought about what marble was made of!
Thanks.entropy51 - 28-1-2010 at 15:45
My benches are wooden. I work over plastic or stainless steel trays to catch spills when pouring.
I use glazed ceramic floor tiles, about 12 inches square, to line the base of my hood. A huge spill would go thru the cracks, but usually it's just a
few drops of Br2 or acid and so far the tiles have stood up to that. And the things are not combustible.
There's an old recipe out there for a mixture to coat benchtops, but I don't recall it immediately.smaerd - 28-1-2010 at 16:17
If you end up remembering the mixture let me know! I'd really appreciate it and I'm sure a passerby may as well. I wanna do as much research as
possible before investing with this sort of thing.
Tile would be a good idea, I wonder how well grout holds up to acids or oxidizers though... Hmm Hmm Hmm.Magpie - 28-1-2010 at 19:29
Speaking of tile bench tops, here's a picture from an old post by organikum. I have never seen one of these in the US but perhaps they are/were
common elsewhere. I think tile would be quite a good surface as long as the grout was sealed, or at least contained no carbonate.
smaerd - 28-1-2010 at 19:56
Simple, effective, affordable, already have experience doing it! Tile it is. I won't ever do anything dangerous or highly volatile in my house
anyways, no need to go to the great lengths. I like the lip they have there, I will probably increase the size though, just for further spill
protection, as my table will surely be smaller than that.watson.fawkes - 28-1-2010 at 21:10
It's a shame they require a company name to order samples. I wish at home chemistry exploration was more understood and respected.
Please treat the the "company name" blank as part of an intelligence test. You pass the question if you can
invent a company name for your (sole proprietorship) research & development company, currently operating at a loss in its startup phase.rrkss - 28-1-2010 at 21:23
At my university the organic chemistry labs had there bench tops made out of soap stone. The hood where the burettes were stored also had a large
glass tray to catch any spills. We do most of our chemistry on top of wooden planks covered with waxpaper to protect the soapstone and also as a
buffer of protection incase some of the glassware drops. Makes cleanup easy and quick.
[Edited on 29-1-2010 by rrkss]Panache - 28-1-2010 at 22:23
Sodium foil makes an excellent bench covering, i use the 1mm thick stuff you can buy in rolls, just don't fall asleep on it whilst monitoring that
tedious distillation as your drool could easily start a fire.
.