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It’s concrete, what upkeep does it need other than sealing it every so often?. That company has the entire system- forms, concrete, dyes and sealers. I used their si acryl product but they have some newer products which seal even better. I have had no issues with anything staining it.

My two cents:

Clean with some solution to get off grime/dust if needed.

- Yes. The go-to is something called TSP. You can buy it in powder form and mix it or just buy it in liquid form.

Sand lightly with 120 grit sanding block or orbital sander

- Let dry first. If you have loose or bad paint then knock that off first with a 5in1 tool or putty knife. Then use a finish sander and sanding block to get a light scuff on the surface. Be sure to caulk any seams or gaps. If you have other imperfections you'll need to fill them in with wood filler and sand smooth.

Wipe away sand with moist towel or microfiber cloth

- I'd vacuum it first, then wipe it down. They make tack clothes for the wipe, but they can get pricey if you use a lot of them so I think you're ok with the towel.

Apply primer

- Yes.

Sand with ~200 grit after priming slightly to smooth it out

- Not really necessary if apply your primer well - no drips, etc.

Apply first coat of paint, brush around edges and 4 inch roller (or similar) for larger flat surfaces. Use roller as much as possible. Let dry.

- As others have said, oil has a great finish but can be tough to work with. Latex is easier, but generally not as nice of a finish. But there are now urethane alkyd paints, which give you easy latex cleanup and application with an oil like finish. Almost all the major brands have them. This is what I would use.

Sand lightly again?

- See below.

Apply second coat of paint and let dry

- Get your primer tinted to the color of your paint and a second coat of paint won't be necessary.

Put on some kind of finish/sealer/polyurethane?

- No, don't bother.

Go to the paint store and they are best equipped to answer and advise you.

I would use personally a latex semi gloss.

Sand, Prime, Light sand, Paint semi gloss, Light sand, Paint semi gloss.

I like brushing it and if you use a good brush and a good touch it can come out nice.

You can also roll it for a flatter finish though if you prefer.

Good luck!

It might be worth paying 20-40 bucks to have a pro painter come out, look, and write down detailed instructions.

> if you were to ask most certified electricians in the United States *

Europe has adopted these en masse.

I personally think it’s just a culture thing. Like plumbers that won’t use PEX or manifolds. Or mechanics that don’t want to work on electric cars. Tradesmen in general don’t like changing their methods as technology advances. Probably because they’re afraid of something breaking and then getting blamed for it down the road.

To address a few questions. Any paint will be sticky if you apply it too thick or recoat too soon. Oil based paint is awesome but very hard to work with. If you are a novice water borne acrylic enamel (I like breakthrough by ppg but there are some SW and benajamin Moore versions pros like more) is a nice mix of easy to work with an durable. They dry fast though so you have to move quickly to keep a wet edge and sand between coats. If you can get one I’d try to use a sprayer. We did to our built ins. Removed everything we could then masked and isolated the rest. That will give you a good finish. We did not sand between coats using the sprayer as the paint hadn’t totally cured and we weren’t trying to smooth out roller stipple or brush strokes.

Take your time. It’s not that hard but get it really really clean and scuffed up very well. And use a good primer. Good luck!

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Be careful about where you get your information. What you are doing is technically finishing wood furniture. The type of painting you will be doing is not the same as painting walls, which could be why you're getting so much conflicting information.

It sounds like you're dealing with muddy water, so I'm not sure how much help it would be to share what I would personally do because I dive in head-first on things and learn as I go. Maybe get a piece of wood to test on and see if you can arrive at the finish you're looking for?

You don't need to apply anything like poly, you'll just apply a topcoat. For your purposes your paint is your finish. If you decide to go with an oil-based finish then understand you will be creating a piece of fine furniture, and you should supply yourself with enough time and patience to learn such a craft. Don't rush that process.

I really want to do this, but everyone online says upkeep is a nightmare. What's been your real world experience?

That's going to be most flexible. Run a 100 amp sub panel which should clear all your needs and allow for some extra power should need arise.

Be sure to match wire and connections with correct materials.

Automotive wiring and building wiring is totally different 🤣🤣

You’re not going to use wire nuts in your car, right?

Building wiring is 90VAC-240VAC. By definition it has a huge range. Automotive wiring is typically 10.5VDC-15VDC (for cars anyway). Of course it’s more susceptible to resistance.

And as for safety, I watched a video where a WAGO 221 survived 100A. It only started failed at 120A and even then it was the plastic housing that melted, the connection was still fine.

I’m personally of the opinion that wire nuts are just as safe or unsafe. Even when they’re properly terminated they can still fail. This is doubly true when they’re used to terminate more than 2 wires or when they are used to terminate stranded to solid. I have personally removed 2-3 of these where one of the wires just fell right out of the wire nut 😂😂

Good info. In the automobile industry, some of these computer modules are throwing codes for slight changes in resistance, for a frayed wire, or 1 strand in a bundle coming loose, very very sensitive. Obviously lights and small electronics are not likely to cause an issue in a home, where loads are not resistance sensitive, but if you have small resistance changes all over your home, and throw a toaster into the mix, a washing machine, a space heater, and these small changes in resistance in my opinion, just are not worth the risk of something happening one day.

Don't use MDF anywhere near a source of mousture.

/r/Anticonsumption - in the future if you do have something you don't think you can /want to repair, consider giving it to a friend or someone who would (or at least could learn or practice on it). Thanks for your comment!

Thanks for you help!

Couple things from someone who does this for a living. I always try and cut my sink out before laminating but sometimes I just cant. It does not really matter as long as you use a good fine finish blade in your jigsaw with the orbital set all the way out so the blade is tight, drill out your 4 corners, and when on your last cut line put 2 wood screws in the cuts on opposite sides so the piece does not fall out and break the laminate. Next, never use MDF for a countertop where water is involved unless its Exteria exterior MDF.

I think either way works so I would suggest cutting out first. That way you end up with a piece of mdf and a piece of laminate that you can use for other projects. I hate waste :)

You’re right that there’s some crap that’s sold on Amazon. If it’s too cheap it’s probably crap.

The push in ones are used by some people but the internet almost exclusively recommends 221s (lever nuts).

The NEC is 99% about safety. Lever nuts have been determined to be safe.

A smaller connection at a specific point will increase the resistance a bit, that’s true. The difference is marginal though. It may get a bit hotter at the connection but that’s not nearly the same thing as getting hot along the entire cable run. The 12AWG cable will still be capable of transmitting 20A safely along the entire run.

I’m not an electrician so I really can’t say with full confidence.

I’m not sure what the backstabbing comment has to do with the WAGOs. The ones usually recommended by the internet are the 221s which are never nuts. No backstabbing with those. Are you referring to specific receptacles? I don’t backstab with those either. I’ll side wire or J-hook then if side wiring isn’t available.

I’ve seen some videos of people satisfied with products like the WAGO 773 but I don’t have experience with them.

I don’t think there’s an issue if wires are snug. As long as they fit in the box it should be fine.

The purpose of electrical tape is basically done insurance to make sure nothing touches the wires accidentally. It does basically nothing for mechanical support.

The breaker set up is where I landed after further research. I think I'll just run oversized wires once with the right size breaker to an outlet later. I can expand it to a sub panel to manage distribution to additional circuits at the carport. It's all exposed so no need to tear up walls or anything like that. This should give me good flexibility with one wire run. Thanks for the insights

Since you are laying the laminate yourself, cutting the sink hole first seems to make sense. You should be able to get a cleaner cut with the laminate trimmer. But I would be afraid of using MDF around water in a self built countertop. If you don’t get it sealed properly, it will swell up and destroy itself with just a little water. I remodeled my kitchen and used this concrete kit from z counterform. It was fairly easy and makes a solid and practically indestructible counter.

I splurged last year on a Victor Journeyman 2 kit for my first oxyacetylene setup and have not regretted it - especially since my other braze repairs have been larger and I have had some uses for a cutting torch as well as the rosebud as well. I have some flux-coated brazing rod I got from the local welding supply shop, but it is too big for this (1/8" diameter I think).

I have a pack of smaller/thinner brazing rods, I think they might be Bernomatic WB5 https://www.bernzomatic.com/Products/Brazing-Welding-Rods/WB5

This small brazing job could have been done with a MAP torch too, but I happened to have my OA setup in the garage. I might try the next small brazing repair (like if another trowel breaks) with MAP just because.

We have a couple more with similar joints that haven't broken yet- my plan is to drill a hole through the middle for a small fastener, like a #10, #12, or maybe even 1/4" screw+nut. Should have zero downsides since there is no weldment in the middle of the joint, so the bolt should only add strength.

Definitely for an ev run at least 6