Worktop surface covering

[Greg.]

I want a different covering to my worktop for Audio DIY. Please can someone remind me what the material of choice is? Am I right that some use that dining table underlay (under the table cloth) which is heat resistant?

[Fred Shaw]

That is what I use when I work on my audio equipment - which I must say is not all that often.

[bob orbell]

I have a piece of white PTFE almost 500mm squire 3mm thick, it came from my last employer, it is heat resistant and non conductive , you can buy it from RS Components, but it is not cheap . Bob

[Greg.]

Many thanks, Fred and Bob. I’m hoping the John Caswell will come in here because I’d like to use what he has. PTFE sheet is something I’ve not thought of before. I’ll look it up, but probably elsewhere than RS.

[John Caswell]

Interesting!
My work benches are 3/4" OSB (oops see below) fully covered in blue Linoleum (didn't have a colour choice, blue or blue was offered) It was a tail ender. It's proper stuff about 4mm thick, slightly resilient and relatively resistant to most chemicals. We often used to use it as studio flooring. Oh and it smells nice!!!
The proper working area has piece of dining table underlay over the Lino and for delicate items front panels etc. I can place an old bedsheet multifolded over that.
Another good thing is hardboard, not MDF, with 2-4 thin coats of varnish

John

[snowman_al]

For my work bench I use thick wall paper, pasted to the top and a coat or two of varnish. It is surprisingly resilient and easy to replace if needed.
I have old carpet squares (out of sample books) for the things that I do not want to scratch.
If I am working on the dining table, I cover it with the heat resistant table protector and then a couple of sheets of cardboard. That stops any heavy items like mains transformers 'dinging' the table surface.

[John Caswell]

Sorry a minor change, the workbench tops are actually standard 6' x 2' el cheapo hardboard doors, I have no idea why I thought they were OSB. (Senile decay)
They give me an "L" shaped workbench 8' x 4'.

John

[Richard]

Morning all,

Greg, it's not been mentioned but I wonder if you have anti-ESD (electrostatic discharge) mats in mind? RS have such,
https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/esd-safe-mats/7873114/

Probably not needed for most valve gear. I use a convenient piece of corrugated cardboard cut from a large box. When it gets too dog-eared just swap it for another.

A more "pro" alternative would be hardboard as John suggests which is very cheap from the likes of Wickes if you can suffer the queues at the moment,
https://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Gene...220mm/p/110105

[Phil Y]

I'm with Richard, proper antistatic bench matting would be my choice.(it is what I use)
It is tough, fairly heat and chemical resistant and slightly soft being synthetic rubber so it won't scratch faceplates etc and things don't slide around on it.
You can even earth it if you are working with semiconductors to lessen the chance of zapping something.

Phil.

[Greg.]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I’ve been having a serious garage clear out which means I’ll get my work bench back. I had a look at Teflon, but even on eBay from China it was expensive and the size I wanted wasn’t available. I’ll either end up sticking a section of tablecloth underlay to a piece of hardboard or I might just splash out on the anti-static mat suggest by Richard and recommended by Phil.