Well, I’ve been putting it off and off, and now is the moment of truth… It’s time to put the backdrop up.
It’ll be hooked directly to the wall (i.e. doesn’t need to have much structural strength itself), and go from layout to ceiling. I’m just not sure what to use:
Hardboard… Joints tend to crack open, and too stiff to bend to create “radiused” corner, which I’d like.
Drywall. Easier to hide joints. Definitely not bendy in the corners.
Paneling, a/k/a thin hardboard. The only thing I found at Home Depot with enough “give” to work around corners was the absolute cheapest “plain white” paneling they had.
Homasote? Haven’t actually laid eyes on the stuff in years, and don’t really recall how “flexy” it is. I hear tell they sell it at a building supply place about an hour away…
I am using 1/8" Masonite. I cut the 4 X 8 ’ sheet in half lengthwise with a jig saw and a cutting guide. My backdrop is only going to be 24" high. The flexibility is great for the radius bends, but I’m not sure yet what method I will use to seal the joints. I’m thinking paper tape and joint compound. I’m going to experiment. With the height your planning the flexibility should still be good.
My first choice was to use a piece of foam core poster-board. It was a failure. The stuff was bowing before the paint was dry. From now on Masonite will be all I use.
A roll of sheet plastic works well and is very free flowing and bendable. The only real issues are 1) Because it is so bendable, it needs a lot of support from the top to keep it from sagging (not usually a problem) 2) If you intend to use pics as the backdrop, no problem. A little spray adhesive and your on your way. If you intend to paint, the surface must be scuffed with some 800 grit sandpaper to give the paint something to stick to. The surface of the plastic needs to have some “bite”. Helps with glue too. I’ve used rubber cement with great results. Just spread it thin and then youve got some working time to position it (many glues like spray cement don’t allow this) and if you don’t like it, you just peel it off.
What kind of plastic? I’ve not seen roll plastic that would do, but like the idea… Can you suggest a source, thickness, etc.? I’d love to give that a shot…
Try lowes, 6 mill, black, comes in 100ft rolls. Using it for the access area through the backdrop in the corners. Balance is 1/8" Masonite. used a file to bevel the edges and spackling compound to cover the joints. The new compounds changes color when dry.
Needs a 1x2 frame to stretch the plastic or you get wrinkels in it. The masonite is on a 1x2 frame work the was Liquid nailed to the cinder block. The matrix we used was 24" high with verticals at 16" o.c.
Hope this helps.
I used the plastic (styrene) rolls that are used in Graphic Arts. A good art supply store or graphic arts studio should be able to fix you up. I got mine out of a dumpster behind a graphic arts studio. It was black, 24 inches high, and about 50 feet still on the roll. I was able to do one continuous backdrop with no seams that flowed around corners easily.
It comes in different thicknesses, and it’s made out of different types of plastic. The thicker it is, the tougher it is to bend around corners, but you need some thickness to it (.060 - .080) so that you’re painting on something with some rigidity. Now, about the plastic compound itself, styrene is good. Acetate should also hold paint. Other plastics may not, you’ll have to try it to find out. Just remember to scuff it or the paint will have nothing to adhere to.
Now like I said, my roll was black. It comes in white also, and that would be much easier to work with. Matter of fact, I’m going to be redoing my layout soon and I was thinking of using the white and before I paint it, tape out a lightning bolt or two, then paint storm clouds, pull up the tape and put a push button strobe light behind it. We’ll see…[8D]
Another thought occurred to me. The same foam so many of us use for our baseboard… It comes in 4’ widths x 50 feet x 1/4" thickness, which is just about right and bends well enough… And… it’s sky-blue (if you get the Dow version).
Issues: It’s fan-folded, so that might look funny. I checked the Dow website, and they only offer the 1/4" stuff folded, no rolls or sheets. I wonder if joint compound would stick to it to smooth those creases - it would take very, very little…?
Also, paint… It will hold paint, as I recall… But am I wrong?
A word of caution about Masonite. If you are going to use it, humidity control is a must. It expands and contracts a great deal depending on the moisture in the air. I used it for fascia and after a few months, it became very wavy. I used drywall for most of the my backdrop and used styrene for the rounded corners. It’s a little tricky to blend it into the drywall but I was able to get it done without a noticable joint. If I had it to do over again, I might go with linoleum since it is both strong and flexible.
We are about to finish our basement. When it is done, the corner gyprock will become my backdrop. When the time comes to paint it over, regardless of the reason, it will be a two coat job…and that’s it.
I have that stuff and I don’t think it would work well for a backdrop as it tends to fold and crease as it goes around bends. It would also be hard to get the joint compound to stay in place as you’re trying to sand it smooth. It doesn’t have anything to bite to. I like that you’re thinking out of the box though.
I have noticed several of you have said, either here or in previous threads, that you used the plastic sheeting in the corners and some other product for the rest of your backdrop. I’m curious as to why you would do that as it just sounds like a lot more work to me to hide all the joints and so forth. Why not use the plastic all the way around your layout in one continuous sheet as I did and have no joints at all?
By the way, I probably should have mentioned it as an option earlier, but this place has some awesome pre-printed backdrops available;
Humidity and heat was also the main reason I didn’t go with linoleum. It was a strong concideration, but the back side of the linoleum, which is the side you use facing out, is basically paper. That doesn’t mix well with all the wet stuff we use to make our scenery, but there are ways around that. The biggest problem was it’s weight. The stuff is quite heavy, and when the temperature and humidity goes up, like it has a tendency to do here in central Indiana, linoleum tends to sag quite badly and the edges like to curl up. Now you can tack it down every two inches to prevent this, but it still weighs a million pounds. The plastic seemed like the best option to me.
I used 1/8 " masonite and countersunk flathead screws through the masonite into the studs behind. I have 3 or 4 dramatic curves and 2 of them are very tight radius. I used drywall mud between the edges and for screwhead holes.
I think it looks great and it’s somewhat bulletproof so far. I also used 1/8 " masonite for fascia as well with the same techniques.
my 2 cents,
go to a good lumber yard(not home depot, they will just look at you duhhhh, I know i used to work for them) ask for 1/4 in sheet rock, yes i said 1/4 in, its made, when putting it up, wet the back with a spray bottle and bend it to desired curve(radius)
TAKE YOUR TIME!!! better to have help if 1/4 in not available then use 3/8ths wet it well dont soak!!! then install as you normally would with tape and joint compound
You can get sheet styrene at www.usplastic.com. I used 1/16 white. Comes in a roll. I did the joints with drywall mud and tape. I screwed the sheet to the wall with drywall screws and mudded over the screw heads. The sheet took latex paint marvelously with no prep required and I can see no joints or patches whatsoever.
My backdrop attaches to the back perimeter of the layout. I affixed .060 styrene to 1/4" Masonite for support and simply screwed both together as a sandwich to the edge of the layout. I stuck the styrene to the Masonite with double stick carpet tape. Works really well and very easy/quick to do. I have only had to go back and add three 1" x 2" vertical supports, glued to the back of the Masonite to prevent inward leaning.
I used Masonite with no problems of warping over the last five years BUT I had the sheet Masonite in my basement for an entire year before I used it and perhaps going through the change of seasons and humidity level before it was screwed to joists helped. I also painted it immediately. Perhaps I should have painted both sides.
I have seen vinyl flooring used as a backdrop, and it comes in long strips. If youi are lucky you could pick up a waste piece for free at a job site that might be just the thing. It does need support since unlike masonite it has no inherent stiffness.
A friend of mind who is a carpenter contractor used sheet metal for coved corners and the matched the edges so well you cannot tell where the drywall ends and the sheet metal begins, but the corner is perfectly rounded. It seems to take paint well, too
Dave Nelson
I used .06" styrene and it turned out great. I got 4’ x’ 8’ sheets a commercial plastics store in town, look in phone book. It was a little cheaper than the internet site previouly given. Be sure to use a proper adhesive to affix to the wall, which will not effect the styrene. I used a vinyl caulk and sanding for the seams, since a health problem in the house kept me away from other possibilities. Automotive filler would be a better choice, but somewhat toxic. The styrene takes latex paint wonderfully for sky background and clouds. I made the usual corner frame with 1x2’s and plywood to support the styrene for the curved corners.