Update on my display board! I’ve added the texture and basecoated the board with cheap black acrylic paint from an arts and crafts store. To create a more interesting surface, I mixed some grey and brown into the black and added irregular patterns. Next up will be the dry brushing and flocking. See how the board looked like before I painted it after the jump.
This is the board before I added the paint. I stippled on three coats of filler as described in TheTerrainTutor’s video. Unfortunately, the board warped a bit with all the filler and paint. Thankfully I was able to bend it back in shape. But I guess 12 mm MDF isn’t thick enough to absorb all the wetness of the filler and paint. Or I should have sealed it better, I guess it would have been better to use thinned PVA glue or latex paint to prime the board instead of thinned filler, as filler is permeable to moisture. Well, I’ll know it better next time!
Do you have some advice for the best material to use for gaming tables and display board?
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Looking good so far Stahly.
Thanks for the advice guys! I guess next time I should think about adding a frame…
One other advantage of a frame is that its a lot comfier to carry the board by the frame than to grip the 12mm edge of the mdf, but if you want double sided OSB is the way to go in my opinion
Nice progress so far, I must admit I've always added batons to my boards, screwed down for added resilience, they also give it a nice weighty feel.
Warping will happen with MDF given time, its like a sponge and will suck moisture out the atmosphere. The only sure fire way to resist warpage is to brace one side of the board which is fine as long as you dont want to make it double sided…
A better material for tables and display boards (with a view to long term storage, as i imagine most of us find our boards relegated to the garage/shed/loft rather than in pride of place inside our homes) is to use OSB board (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oriented_strand_board) which is naturally water resistant and why you see it used in construction rather than MDF, so as long as its stored flat shouldn't warp due to moisture, piling a tonne of crap on it is annother matter though 😉
With regards to sealing MDF sanding sealer is the stuff you want, its like a pre-varnish you apply before a polyurethane lacquer, the idea being that once applied you lightly sand it and recote it so that the sanding dust seals all the pores whilst giving the topcoat a good key to receive the surface cote.
In my haste to tell you about OSB i copletely forgot to complement your progress so far, looking good, liking the varience in shade and texture of the black
Great information.
You need to paint both sides to help stop the warping .
i have always used artex which is a pre mixed sand and paint
but for anything of this size i would add an outer frame to hinder the warping effect