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Author Topic: Caulked TerrAin Mat - UD 23/7 re longevity  (Read 13489 times)

Offline Silent Invader

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Caulked TerrAin Mat - UD 23/7 re longevity
« on: May 18, 2018, 05:23:24 PM »
This thread has now become a record of the WIP.  I’m a novice at mat making, so this isn’t advice just a record.  ;) :)



Left this a bit late but tomorrow I’ll be caulking my terrain mat. :o

I’m actually using an oilcloth (tipped by Dr De’Ath) that is plastic on one side and polyester the other. The caulk will be going onto the polyester.  It won’t be a big mat, just 140 x 80 and I want it to have a flat but sand-textured surface.

I’ve got:
Brown paintable acrylic caulk
PVA
Sharp sand (that will be sieved)
Latex gloves
Table clamps

I also have static grass etc to be added after the mat has been painted and dry brushed with emulsions.

I’ve read various techniques for applying the caulk

A) apply caulk to cloth then sprinkle on sand

B) mix caulk with  PVA then apply to cloth and sprinkle on sand

C) mix caulk with PVA and sand then apply to cloth

I’ve seen B and C with paint in the mix as well but I have coloured caulk and will be painting it when cured.

Views on which gives the most level surface?

Any other suggestions?

Thanks in advance   :)
« Last Edit: January 26, 2021, 06:06:58 PM by Silent Invader »
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Offline OSHIROmodels

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Re: Caulking a terrain mat - advice please
« Reply #1 on: May 18, 2018, 05:25:06 PM »
Any other suggestions?

Don't leave it so late next time?  lol
cheers

James

https://www.oshiromodels.co.uk/

Twitter account -     @OSHIROmodels
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Offline Silent Invader

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Re: Caulking a terrain mat - advice please
« Reply #2 on: May 18, 2018, 05:27:13 PM »
Don't leave it so late next time?  lol

 :D

Yeah, yeah, yeah  lol

Offline Dr DeAth

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Re: Caulking a terrain mat - advice please
« Reply #3 on: May 18, 2018, 05:47:58 PM »


Mix the Caulk with PVA to a spreadable consistency.

Apply with a pallet knife or suitable spreader and while wet sieve on the sand - work in small patches so that the mix doesn't dry out before the sand is added.  You can leave a margin of un-sanded caulk/pva to blend in the next patch so you don't end up putting your spreading tool over the sanded mix

Mist the sand with water containing a few drops of washing up liquid. This step is important as it draws the PVA into the sand and helps it adhere to the caulk/pva mix.

Then let it dry before painting.

Photos of my recent efforts are at www.littleleadmen.com and https://beaverlickfalls.blogspot.com

Offline Eric the Shed

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Re: Caulking a terrain mat - advice please
« Reply #4 on: May 18, 2018, 06:15:40 PM »
please take photos of progress for a tutorial...I have an itch to do one of these

Offline SABOT

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Re: Caulking a terrain mat - advice please
« Reply #5 on: May 18, 2018, 06:31:53 PM »
Very interested to see this develop.

Offline Silent Invader

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Re: Caulking a terrain mat - advice please
« Reply #6 on: May 18, 2018, 07:19:47 PM »
Thanks all, especially Dr De’Ath

Yep I’ll update though Jeff965 recently made a snow-mat ‘how to’ that might be of interest.

https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=108597.15

Online Elk101

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Re: Caulking a terrain mat - advice please
« Reply #7 on: May 18, 2018, 07:24:46 PM »
Having seen Dr De'Ath's excellent old west mat I'm keen to make one myself. Fleece or oilskin, what do you reckon would work best for an ash wastes type landscape?

Offline schoenkoenig

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Re: Caulking a terrain mat - advice please
« Reply #8 on: May 19, 2018, 05:49:22 AM »
Having been through this a few times lately, my advice is to mix the sand in with the caulk.  Gluing the sand on top of the caulk seems to result in a mat that is too thick and stiff, resulting in cracks.  I haven't tried pressing sand into wet caulk yet, so maybe that will work.  But that seems likely to result in thick areas at the seams.

Offline Silent Invader

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Re: Caulking a terrain mat - advice please
« Reply #9 on: May 19, 2018, 06:47:52 AM »
Having seen Dr De'Ath's excellent old west mat I'm keen to make one myself. Fleece or oilskin, what do you reckon would work best for an ash wastes type landscape?

I have no idea Steve so I’ll let others opine  :D

Offline Silent Invader

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Re: Caulking a terrain mat - advice please
« Reply #10 on: May 19, 2018, 06:55:57 AM »
Having been through this a few times lately, my advice is to mix the sand in with the caulk.  Gluing the sand on top of the caulk seems to result in a mat that is too thick and stiff, resulting in cracks.  I haven't tried pressing sand into wet caulk yet, so maybe that will work.  But that seems likely to result in thick areas at the seams.

Thanks very much - interesting advice that makes sense.

My concern with mixing the sand into the caulk (and PVA?) was that it might sink to the bottom of the pot, giving an uneven texture. That said, the dense caulk might discourage the sand from settling?

A lot of people use ‘gloop’ for texturing terrain boards and that seems to work  so I’m probably over -thinking before committing to the task!!  :D

Offline Silent Invader

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Re: Caulking a terrain mat - advice please
« Reply #11 on: May 19, 2018, 11:28:26 AM »
All now spread and I shall do a write up later  :)

Offline Silent Invader

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Re: Caulked TerrAin Mat - first steps.
« Reply #12 on: May 19, 2018, 02:23:00 PM »
This thread has now become a record of the WIP.  I’m a novice at making mats, so this isn’t advice just a record.  ;) :)



Terrain Mat to cover a table 1.4m x 0.8m

Materials:

1) 1m of 1.4m wide Vinyl Tablecloth (Taupe) from Suzie May Crafts of Walthamstow (eBay seller suzie-may-crafts-ltd, item no 311560671024) £5.95



2) 2 x 300ml tubes of brown acrylic sealant (paintable) from Tool Station £1.46 each

3) Resin PVA (exterior & interior) clear-drying wood glue from Tool Station



4) Sharp sand, sieved but slightly damp from the bag

Process:

The cloth had been folded for delivery and required steam pressing to eliminate the worst of the creasing. Ironed on the polyester side (actually the backing), the plastic will become tacky then melt if the heat is too high.



The cloth was cut to the desired size and then clamped to the table top.



Two small tears in an edge of the cloth were patched on the white polyester side, using a small piece of T-shirt cotton tacked in place with Bostik. When the Bostik had cured, and before being smeared with the mix, the patch was trimmed to fit.



The mix comprised:

300ml cartridge of brown acrylic sealant
50ml of dilute exterior PVA (10% water)
150ml of sieved sharp sand (damp)



The mix was applied with plastic spreading tools, with two lots of mix being required.



The first mix covered about 2/3 of the cloth.







There was some mix left over, which I put into an airtight pot for finishing off the clamp points idc.

It’ll now sit for about 36 hours before being painted (NB: the clamps will not be released until after it has been flocked).

« Last Edit: May 23, 2018, 07:11:30 PM by Silent Invader »

Offline Silent Invader

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Re: Caulked Terrain Mat - UD 24/5 Almost there
« Reply #13 on: May 23, 2018, 07:30:58 PM »
The mat was then left to dry in situ, in a reasonably warm room for approximately 36 hours.

As I want a level surface, once it was cured I picked-off any larger lumps that had sneaked through and brushed away the debris.



Paints were B&Q Valspar interior matt 236ml tester pots colour-matched (quite closely) to swatches of Vallejo Model Colour:

1. Base Coat: German Camo Black Brown 70822
2. Heavy Dry Brush: Cork Brown 70843
3. Dry Brush: Iraqui Sand 70819
4. Light Dry Brush: Dark Sand 70847

While still clamped, a 25mm brush was used to paint on the Black Brown emulsion that provides the base coat. Care was taken not to stretch the fabric with over enthusiastic brushing. Care was also taken not to paint over the exposed white areas (around the clamping points) as in due course they will be made good by covering with the mix, which ideally needs to be applied directly to the mats polyester backing cloth.

After minimum 2 hours of drying time, the mat was heavily dry brushed with the Cork Brown emulsion.

After minimum 2 hours of drying time, the mat was dry brushed with the Iraqui Sand emulsion.

After minimum 2 hours of drying time, the mat was lightly dry brushed with the Dark Sand emulsion.



The mat was then left overnight to dry.



Flocking used my basing mix of:

1. 4 pinches of Javis Static Grass No.2 Summer Mix 2mm (JHG2)
3. 1 pinch of Woodland Scenics Coarse Grass Burnt Grass (T62)
4. 1 pinch of Woodland Scenics Coarse Grass Yellow Grass (T61)

However, when mixed as a larger quantity, I simply used 4 bags of the static grass to 1 each of the coarse grass.

The adhesive was brushed on and comprised approximately 90% of the clear-drying wood glue, mixed with 10% water and a few drops of Vallejo Model Air Mud Brown 71037. The flock mix was applied with the mat still clamped in place.



The flock mix was applied generously and then gently patted down.



The scatter distribution is intended to give me the option of a track: if it works I’ll be able to line it with buildings for a reasonably clean track, or cover it with the occasional loose terrain item to blend into the surrounding grassland.



The mat was then left overnight.

I used approximately 6 bags of static grass and 1 1/2 bags each of the coarse grass. With the mat still clamped, the excess was brushed off (25cm brush) and collected to be put towards other terrain items: about 1/3 of what had been scattered remained glued to the mat.





The mat was then shaken outside.

What the oilcloth hasn’t given is a perfectly flat mat. Where the material was folded for delivery it stretched, and stayed stretched. Ironing eliminated the crease but not the stretch. The upshot is ripples.



I quite like them on the flat surface as they add interest. Sometimes they flatten under loose terrain, sometimes they don’t.



Next stage is to fill in the clamping points, which is a repeat of everything above starting with smearing the mix to the white polyester backing cloth.
« Last Edit: May 23, 2018, 07:39:38 PM by Silent Invader »

Online Elk101

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Re: Caulked TerrAin Mat - UD 24/5 Almost there
« Reply #14 on: May 23, 2018, 07:39:28 PM »
Really liking that Steve.

 

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