Converting my Theater room back to a auto garage.

[e6ug]

i converted my garage into a theater room/ sports bar several years back. many good times and memories, but its time to change it back to a 2 car garage. Being a theater room with a projector i decided to paint the floors black and the walls a really dark tan color. first thing i will do is tear down the wall where the old garage door was and add a new door & opener.

looking for any tips to make it a decent amateur auto shop. to start with, should i just paint over the black floors? any other flooring options? good floor colors?
next would be lighting. it currently has two ceiling fans with lights, and i know the door opener will have a light. any suggestions for some good shop lighting? affordable sources? placement?

really just wanting a good comfortable space to work on my 69 ranger and future projects. i will be dedicating a small corner for office duties like reading Technical Articles, watching how to videos, and bugging you guys for advice when i am in need of help

i have a good collection of hand tools and planning on getting a mig welder, engine stand, engine hoist, and decent air compressor. any suggestions on must have tools for my new bump workshop?

but thought i would ask anyways will my co2 tank from my kegerater work with a mig setup?

i am a recovering alcoholic and i think this will be a great fun hobby to keep me busy and out of trouble.

Thanks for any advice. really looking forward to getting my garage set up, and diving head first into this beautiful old truck.

[papabug71]

Well, first off congrats on giving up the alky. You don't need it & you'll be better off without it.

Hmmm. Clean slate for a new garage. Sounds like fun.

As for the floors. Are they painted black now? I figure you could cover that up with some kind of industrial garage floor epoxy. Epoxy-Coat is quite popular over at the garage journal forums. Here's a link: http://www.epoxy-coat.com/

As for the lights, I would pull the ceiling fans in favor of some florescent jobs, 8 footers can be had at Lowes or Home Depot for cheap these days. That would give you a good amount of light to start off with & you can always add more later if that isn't enough.

A good collection of hand tools, in SAE sizes will do for the most part when it comes to working on these trucks. A nice air compressor setup & a air ratchet & impact come in handy as well. Remember to always over compensate when shopping for a compressor. It's better to have one too big vs. one too small. I'm still learning that one the hard way. If you've got the money, I say buy the biggest one you can afford. A quality air compressor will last you a lifetime with routine maintenance. STAY AWAY FROM OIL FREE COMPRESSORS. They're total garbage regardless of the brand.

You'll need to bite the bullet & get a bottle for your mig welder. I won't go too into too much detail on it, but yes, you can use 100% CO2 as a shielding gas, but it promotes oxide embrittlement & makes for weak welds. It also makes a lot of spatter. I know alot of guys swear it's "ok" but I was taught otherwise. Most mig shielding gas is a mix of 75% Argon & 25% CO2. I like 90/10 myself, (90% Argon 10% CO2) but it costs a little more that 75/25. I have a Lincoln Pro-Mig 180 & it's been a good machine for what I do.

That's enough outta me, I'll let the other guys chime in.

And, as always, this is just my

[sargentrs]

Workbench, bench vise, tool chest, storage bins, a rolling cart and a mechanics stool. Don't skimp on the lighting. I've got 2 8' florescent lights and wish I had 2 more. A halogen work light on a stand is useful as is a parts washer, a regular sink and an oscillating fan. Ditto on the air compressor, bigger is better. And get a filter/drier for it in case you plan on painting. That'll also save your air tools.

[flyboy2610]

I would strip the old paint off the floor before putting some epoxy floor covering on it. Otherwise the epoxy is sticking to the paint, not the concrete.

[Kurt Combs]

I love my BendPak lift, but do you have thick enough concrete to bolt it to and do you have the height to lift a truck? You can solve the concrete problem by cutting out part of the garage floor and pouring a thicker slab, but the height issue isn't easy to overcome. You should checkout: http://www.garagejournal.com/ it is a wealth of knowledge about setting up a shop.

[e6ug]

Well, first off congrats on giving up the alky. You don't need it & you'll be better off without it.

Hmmm. Clean slate for a new garage. Sounds like fun.

As for the floors. Are they painted black now? I figure you could cover that up with some kind of industrial garage floor epoxy. Epoxy-Coat is quite popular over at the garage journal forums. Here's a link: http://www.epoxy-coat.com/

As for the lights, I would pull the ceiling fans in favor of some florescent jobs, 8 footers can be had at Lowes or Home Depot for cheap these days. That would give you a good amount of light to start off with & you can always add more later if that isn't enough.

A good collection of hand tools, in SAE sizes will do for the most part when it comes to working on these trucks. A nice air compressor setup & a air ratchet & impact come in handy as well. Remember to always over compensate when shopping for a compressor. It's better to have one too big vs. one too small. I'm still learning that one the hard way. If you've got the money, I say buy the biggest one you can afford. A quality air compressor will last you a lifetime with routine maintenance. STAY AWAY FROM OIL FREE COMPRESSORS. They're total garbage regardless of the brand.

You'll need to bite the bullet & get a bottle for your mig welder. I won't go too into too much detail on it, but yes, you can use 100% CO2 as a shielding gas, but it promotes oxide embrittlement & makes for weak welds. It also makes a lot of spatter. I know alot of guys swear it's "ok" but I was taught otherwise. Most mig shielding gas is a mix of 75% Argon & 25% CO2. I like 90/10 myself, (90% Argon 10% CO2) but it costs a little more that 75/25. I have a Lincoln Pro-Mig 180 & it's been a good machine for what I do.

That's enough outta me, I'll let the other guys chime in.

And, as always, this is just my

Thanks, i feel like a new man after 15+ years of heavy drinking.

yes the floors are currently painted black with a few coats of oil gloss porch and floor paint.
thanks for the lighting advice. my mom works at Lowes, so i can get a 10% discount on anything i might need from lowes

the compressor im looking at http://www.harborfreight.com/5-hp-60-ga ... 93274.html

the mig im looking at, get a 10% discount on this one http://www.lowes.com/pd_256723-1703-K24 ... facetInfo=

[e6ug]

Workbench, bench vise, tool chest, storage bins, a rolling cart and a mechanics stool. Don't skimp on the lighting. I've got 2 8' florescent lights and wish I had 2 more. A halogen work light on a stand is useful as is a parts washer, a regular sink and an oscillating fan. Ditto on the air compressor, bigger is better. And get a filter/drier for it in case you plan on painting. That'll also save your air tools.

Thanks, great advice. i will look into all these options.

[e6ug]

I would strip the old paint off the floor before putting some epoxy floor covering on it. Otherwise the epoxy is sticking to the paint, not the concrete.

i was worried about this. sounds like a heck of a job. any recommendations on best way to do this?

[e6ug]

I love my BendPak lift, but do you have thick enough concrete to bolt it to and do you have the height to lift a truck? You can solve the concrete problem by cutting out part of the garage floor and pouring a thicker slab, but the height issue isn't easy to overcome. You should checkout: http://www.garagejournal.com/ it is a wealth of knowledge about setting up a shop.

would love to have a lift, just don't have the height to work with. thanks for the link, looks like a lot of good info over there.

[papabug71]

That's the same welder I have. I got mine at Lowes also, on sale thank goodness. They're a good machine. I'm very pleased with mine. A friend of mine that does body work has borrowed it a couple of times when his welder went down on him & he says he likes it.

Let us know when you start on your garage. Kurt Combs is right, http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/ is an awesome place to get ideas for a shop/garage. Between this site & garage journal you can spend A LOT of time getting ideas & gathering information.

[e6ug]

That's the same welder I have. I got mine at Lowes also, on sale thank goodness. They're a good machine. I'm very pleased with mine. A friend of mine that does body work has borrowed it a couple of times when his welder went down on him & he says he likes it.

Let us know when you start on your garage. Kurt Combs is right, http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/ is an awesome place to get ideas for a shop/garage. Between this site & garage journal you can spend A LOT of time getting ideas & gathering information.

good to know about the welder yes i registered at garagejournal, lots of good info over there.

it looks like my best option for the floor would be to grind then epoxy that is a lot of time and $ i would rather spend on my truck, so i might just clean it up real good and put a few coats of grey deck paint down. i know it won't be that durable, but won't cost much at all more $ for tools & parts.

putting up all new hardware and new opener for my old door tomorrow, tore down the interior wall last night with the zombie tomahawk was fun jammin to some good tunes while smashing down a wall.. one heck of a mess