< i'm going to send a pm to the Mrs. and ask her to slap you>.....Seams in flats can drive you up the wall. ....
< i'm going to send a pm to the Mrs. and ask her to slap you>
If they are muslin flats dutchman or masking tape really is your best friend. If they are luan covered Broadways then I reall prefer to use Painters acrylic - latex caulk. I've found, over the years that it's great especially if you are building and finishing in a shop then moving the set to the theater. ust take a mat knife to the seam, slice it and then when you get to the theater they tend to go righ back together. Using an 1/8" round-over bit on the edges of luan flats can reall help too. It tends to give you a nice valley to fill, just like on drywall.
I'm glad to see someone else uses the "valley" technique. To avoid the health worries with Bondo, we developed this technique: We make a valley as described. The we squirt some wood glue down the seam to really lock it together. Then a coat of water putty, sand as needed, and a skim coat of drywall mud. You can really hide a seam 100%.As for seams in a single flat I prefer Bondo or a similar body filler compound. When I am building a flat over 10' tall and I need to hide a horzontal seam, or a vertical seam in a flat wider that 4' < or 5' if you can get luan of that width, it's available in 5' widths some places> Then I prefer to take a 4" grinder with a "flapper" disc in it and cut a valley right over the top of the seam. Then I go back over the seam with Bondo. Again this process is similar to doing real Drywall as you are filling a valley created by the meeting of two seperate pieces.
Using Bondo in a scene shop is not without issues you need good air flow for proper ventalation, you must use dust masks and the resulting seam is much smoother that the surrounding luan material which will make it visible if you don't take the time to at least quick sand the rest of the flat.
Somethings going to have to hold that tape in place. Drywall tape doesn't traditionally, have any adhesive. ( except the fiberglass kind) And once you use something that thick you're right back to where you started as far as needing to cover mask and feather the seam and tape. The idea behind masking tape is that is is so thin that it tends to disappear.How about using drywall joint tape instead of masking or gaffer's tape? Will it be removable after 3/4 weeks on stage? And what brand and width masking tape that will not wrinkle/pucker/shrink is being used?
Thanks John.I know this is an old thread, but my venue uses blue paint tape. Does not wrinkle and is thin
Thanks VanSomethings going to have to hold that tape in place. Drywall tape doesn't traditionally, have any adhesive. ( except the fiberglass kind) And once you use something that thick you're right back to where you started as far as needing to cover mask and feather the seam and tape. The idea behind masking tape is that is is so thin that it tends to disappear.
We use essential cookies to make this site work, and optional cookies to enhance your experience.