Completely Restoring 3000sqft garage for Detailing Studio - What Colors Make Sense?

[ahheck01]

We`re getting the floor refinished with a durable epoxy this weekend, and painting the walls shortly thereafter, with the ability to paint the ceiling if desired.



I`m wondering what the ideal configuration would be for a detailing studio? I`ve seen black floors with white walls and white ceiling, I`ve seen white floors with white walls and a black ceiling, all white, etc.



I understand that more light is better, but I see black an awful lot to make me think there`s reason to consider its usefulness. Experienced detailers, if you could have whatever paint scheme you wanted, what would be your approach, and why?

[Ron Ketcham]

Light grey floor, light grey up the walls to about 4 to 6 feet using a good enamel, then a red or set of some color stripes of 9 or so inches, then white.

Use of the light grey on the wall doesn`t show the splatter/smudges etc as much, so the shop keeps a "clean" look.

Also doesn`t cut down on the light as much.

Not a fan of black floors as they hide too much, and make one lazy when it comes to shop house keeping.

Have you got a trench drain in the wet bay area?

Good lighting there is necessary and making sure sufficent light is aimed down at the lower areas of the vehicle and into the engine bay area.

What takes place in the wet bay, if set up right, can reduce over all final labor by a large percentage.

[Accumulator]

Ron`s suggestion(s) sound almost exactly like how we did my previous (commercial) shop.



I did my current (home) shop just a little differently in that I have all-white walls with FRP coming up a few feet from the floor.



NO BLACK, at least not IMO. I bet people choose it because "black is kewel" rather than for any functional/practical reasons.



I did go with a "mottled" gray floor (epoxy/stone product, sealed with more epoxy to avoid porosity as the "regular" version left the shop like a swamp) and I think it hides the inevitable stains better than a "straight" color.



I trust you`ve given thought to "slippery when wet" with regard to the floor...



That`s a nice size for a shop!

[Ron Ketcham]

Just remebered one other "key" item for the wet bay.

Don`t rely on dry wall painted.

Obtain the "melamine" sheets, which come in white or tan, and use that for the walls in the wet bay area. Silicone seal all the joints tightly, especially along the floor area.

This board wipes clean, no painting and water does not penetrate.

Attach 8 "spring" clamps with dry wall screws to it, spaced apart for putting floor mats up to clean and allow to drip dry.

By the time the vehicle is done with interior and buff process, the mats will be almost completely dry, the water out of them stays in the wet bay and down the drain.

[ahheck01]

Ron`s suggestion(s) sound almost exactly like how we did my previous (commercial) shop.



I did my current (home) shop just a little differently in that I have all-white walls with FRP coming up a few feet from the floor.



NO BLACK, at least not IMO. I bet people choose it because "black is kewel" rather than for any functional/practical reasons.



I did go with a "mottled" gray floor (epoxy/stone product, sealed with more epoxy to avoid porosity as the "regular" version left the shop like a swamp) and I think it hides the inevitable stains better than a "straight" color.



I trust you`ve given thought to "slippery when wet" with regard to the floor...



That`s a nice size for a shop!

Yeah, we`re pretty excited. It`s actually going to be 1/2 detailing studio, 1/2 photo studio, which is exciting/unique.



I`d be curious to see this "mottled" gray floor if you`re willing to share. I`ve been discussing a gloss creme or light grey color, with some really thick "clear coat", and just being willing to mop the whole floor twice a week to keep it looking crisp. That said, if there`s a likelihood of permanent stains, that could drastically detract from the all-white-ish look.



So perhaps just carry the color of the floor (whatever color that is) up the wall to waist level, then a stripe of color 9" wide, then white walls? Would white and red be too cliche? I feel like blue would appear too cold. Open to ideas on the `accent` color. We`ll paint our cabinetry/storage the same.



As for slipperiness, we plan to put the grit in the flooring in the wash bay, extending an extra 10` beyond it, then containing any significant water activity to that area.

[Ron Ketcham]

More about wet bay.

Go to the valugard.net website and watch closely the ABC system video.

Notice that in the background, there are plastic coated wire baskets for brushes, mitts, etc.

Nothing should be on the floor other than the wash buckets.

We always set up a shop`s wet bay with two colored 5 gallon buckets.

One is green for the detail wash solution, green means go/OK, and the only tool that goes in it is a wash mitt. This is your "actual" car wash solution bucket.

The other bucket should be red. Red means danger, etc, and in that bucket is more detail wash solution and brushes for tires, wheels, etc and an older wash mitt.

This bucket is for what we always referred to as the "grunge" bucket. For that dirty work, wheels, wheel wells, tires, etc, rocker panels, under the hood, door, trunk and hood jam areas.

Nothing in this bucket should be used on the main exterior surfaces of the vehicle.

This is a "production" shop set up, where time is money.

You may also notice that the "spray bottles" for products used in the wet bay (wheel cleaner, all purpose cleaner, degreaser, etc) are hanging from another plastic coated wire rack, these are never left lying about on the floor, etc.

All bottles are clearly marked with the product and OSHA required information on each.

Should you elect to use the ABC system, one other bucket is required.

Since the "A" product is blue in concentrate, we add a blue bucket and mitt for the "A" product, makes it easy to use the right product for the right job.

The mitt in that bucket is for use of applying the "A" product only.

[Accumulator]

I designate my various buckets differently than the Pros at AutoInt, but then I`m working off my personal memory and I`m not about to change to the right way now But yeah...gotta be able to tell what`s what at a glance.



And yeah....I gotta mount some floormat clips one of these days/weeks/years...who am I kidding, at this point I could say "one of these decades"!



ahheck01- I`ve yet to do the digital-imaging thing, so I can`t show a pic of my floor. Look at websites for products like NatureStone to get an idea. I have that sort of floor, with an additional coating of epoxy to "fill the voids" (they normally *want* the voids but that didn`t work for me). They sprinkled a friction-media (i.e., sand) on while the last coat of that was drying. Eh, it held up OK, but after a decade of wear (including metal-wheel floorjacks), it could stand redone some time.



Note that the friction media complicates the wipedown a bit. I generally just hose towards the trench-drain and use a pushbroom. A squeegee gets worn down (and hangs up) on the rough texture. I never get it perfectly dry as a general rule; I`ve done it with the extractor and also my wet/dry vac,but I decided it`s usually a waste of time unless I have a real good reason to do it.



I would go gray instead of cream, IMO the latter can just look...discolored. The gray looks more "like it`s supposed to be that shade".



Yes, it *will* get permanent stains. Really. NO matter how much you kill yourself trying to keep it pefect. I`m quite certain of this So think ahead and choose something you`ll be happy with *after* all that "it won`t happen to me!" stuff does happen. Aw gee, this makes me wish mine had stayed perfect..or at least nicer than it has, but that`s life.



I go either way about the "running the color up the walls". I did it at the commercial shop, did *not* do it at my home one, liked `em both just fine. At my current one, the FRP came in white, the walls were white, so I figured that was a simple call, and it worked out OK. I`d worried about nasty stains/etc., but it hasn`t been a problem. Nor have I had problems with that FRP discoloring (even under the fluorescent light), which some people had predicted would happen.

[Bill D]

FWIW, here`s my garage. It`s been a bit improved since these first days pics.I have better equipment and storage facilities now. I lost the photos of the utility sink on the right hand wall.



Works plenty fine for me as a showroom and a detailing studio:

[Brad B]

^^^^^ Sweet!

[Ben@3D]

Pretty nice set up! I really like the banners too! :yo:

[Bill D]

Super proud supporter of the greatest detailing site on Earth :up

[RenuAuto]

Ive had black floors. Worse thing in the world. Never looked properly clean, and SOAKED up ALL of my light making the shop much darker. My second shop has all-white-everything and I`m a much happier person. Go that route, or at least grey on the floor if you want to help against stains/looking dirty, ect.

[911fanatic]

How tall are your walls? Mine are 24` so I did medium grey floor, white walls up to 12` ( where my lights were hanging ) and light grey above that. With the lighter colours, the lighting was always good and it made the shop feel clean.

[ahheck01]

How tall are your walls? Mine are 24` so I did medium grey floor, white walls up to 12` ( where my lights were hanging ) and light grey above that. With the lighter colours, the lighting was always good and it made the shop feel clean.

They`re 14` ceilings, with support beams that are 12` off the ground.



I should just get some photos up for y`all to see. I`ll see if I can get that done tomorrow.

[Accumulator]

FWIW, here`s my garage....

Very, very nice, Bill!