My own 2c. 1. Throw caution and money to the wind, and go to some countertop store, explain your needs. Were I to do it again I would want the surface to be solvent resistant, and a surface you can scrape the paint and glue off now and then. The second idea is use some relatively smooth and solid surface like MDF, that you can take off and trash when they become too beat up.
Kim, indeed, I am considering now contracting this portion out. Even the cheapest formica option is $1500 installed. That's nearly 8% of the
entire basement budget.
edit: I will have a 'sacrificial' work surface over top of the counter. Its MDF wrapped in vinyl, I'll see if I can find a photo.
MDF is not really an option in this case...and it goes back to the initial design phase. You see, a lot of my floor plans had the modelling area walled off, with access via 34" door. This had some great advantages: I could finish the room with cheaper materials, I wouldn't have to keep tidy (just close & lock the door), and I could make it more of a work area, ie, use MDF for a counter. Also, having a 4th wall in the room would give me another wall to butt a work surface up against.
The disadvantage was that it made the basement seem cramped. It's roughly 25' along the back wall, and splitting it into 2 x 12' rooms just made the whole area look tight. I decided that leaving it open, despite the advantage of a separate closed off room, would also make it more social. So when I go down to work on models, my kids will be close by in the TV / games area. And when the guys come over for a build night, we can have the war movies on in teh background. TBH, I'm still not sure if this was the right call, it was a design decision that took months to make, ahah!
