Blood, Sweat, and Sawdust

It’s finally starting to look like a real workshop.

After reading a few product reviews and tests, I settled on a paint and primer in one from Sherwin Williams.  In the past, I’ve always used the cheapest stuff I could find at the Borg.  Since the original paint had adhesion issues, I used something a little more high-end for the workshop.  I wasn’t let down.  The Sherwin Williams paint provided excellent sheen and coverage.  I believed I would need three coats on the bare drywall, but the guy at the paint store assured me that two would be enough.  He was right.

I’ve always hated painting, so I did a bit of research to make this as painless as possible.  I learned to cut in by hand, and properly roll on paint.  As a result, each coat only took me less than an hour (about 600 sq ft.).  My biggest piece of advice would be to drop the home improvement wisdom of rolling paint out in a “W” shape.  Roll straight up and down, starting at the center.  Then feather out the edges.  Also, use a high quality roll cage and roll cover.

I used PVC baseboard and molding for everything.  It’s a little pricey, but will hold up better to shop duties.  I still need to caulk the trim using a high quality, paintable caulk.

I finished the walls just in time, because I now have boxes for an air conditioner and Oneida dust collector taking up most of my floor space.

Stay tuned.

For the rest of the workshop build, check out the garage workshop build index.