Ground cloth

The Spillguard water repellent feature could be difficult to apply paint to. Probably worth buying a roll and testing with.
 
I haven't tried to use it in your application, but I've used lots of Ram Board lately while renovating my house. It is really good at its stated purpose of protecting a floor, but it doesn't always come out looking very fresh. I definitely abused it more than the average short run of a play, but I would really test it well before painting a show floor onto it. Maybe paint a sample and tape it down in a busy traffic path somewhere in your shop for a while. I think aside from traffic severity, your specific paint treatment will have a big impact. My Ram Board pretty quickly started breaking down and getting fuzzy and warped in areas that really got wet, like from plastering or steaming wallpaper - akin to the wettest of scene painting techniques, but without protection from a size coat. It kept the floor underneath pretty clean and dry, but didn't look nice on top. Kept dry and unpainted, Ram Board is impressively durable though, appearance included. I didn't paint on my Ram Board on purpose, but plenty of paint has been dripped or spilled and brushed out to dry. The Spillguard feature seems to me to be about absorbing a lot of liquid and fast. So a sealing prime coat first is probably important but I think it would take paint okay. Maybe a top sealer too. Might want to try priming with something like Gardz to control the absorbency and soak a lot of binder into the Ram Board fibers. I'm interested in how this comes out.
 
We have used 4*8 ft sheets of 1/8 MAF to create a floor covering with good success. You can use double sided tape to hold it down on the corners. And you can reuse it.
Regards
Crispy
 
I was looking at Revolution Ply - somewhere in the $10-15 per 4x8 by ~3/16" - for another project. I feel like it might last longer than MDF and have more usefullness when it's retired from floor use.
 
BillConnerFASTC said:
I was looking at Revolution Ply - somewhere in the $10-15 per 4x8 by ~3/16" - for another project. I feel like it might last longer than MDF and have more usefullness when it's retired from floor use.
Click to expand...
I get my MDF for free so it does me just fine.
 
BillConnerFASTC said:
I was looking at Revolution Ply - somewhere in the $10-15 per 4x8 by ~3/16" - for another project. I feel like it might last longer than MDF and have more usefullness when it's retired from floor use.
Click to expand...

My college used Lauan as a floor instead of MDF/Maso. Easy to paint, stands up well, and you can quickly staple it down rather than countersink/screw. It still warps, but you just take a narrow crown pre-show and shoot down the bubbles.
 
I also am not so sure Ramboard would paint real well, its durable, but I have my doubts. It would lay flat fine though I suspect painting it would causes edges to curl. I think it would paint up alright but I'm not sure if would flake off or scratch up under use... which may or may not matter for your uses.
 
We've used 1/8" masonite on a concrete floor held down with double stick tape. The application was a parquet floor. Let me tell you, it was a whole lot easier to paint with the 4'x8' sheets on saw horses than doing stoop work on the floor! I have reused the sheets several times since they were originally done but if it is an easy design that didn't take ages to do, you could certainly reuse/repurpose the sheet goods. If your floor is uneven with raised lumps, you could have problems but pits and gauges are no problem.
 
Ramboard would be a $200 investment for us when we paint a floor, but our college maintenance department might look more favorably at it than nearly 1000 screw holes in the stage when we use 1/4" MDF (48x24).
 
I just taped the 4*8 together in center (underside) and to floor around perimeter. Easy.
 
BillConnerFASTC said:
I just taped the 4*8 together in center (underside) and to floor around perimeter. Easy.
Click to expand...

You mean you taped all the internal seams together on the underside (as you laid them) and then taped the outside edge to the stage floor? Sounds easy, yes. We've put the MSD down with screws, taped the seams topside & painted. Dancing & acting galore without any walls or furniture holding the floor in place. Would we expect that kind of non-floating behavior without the screws? Ooh, maybe just a few screws on the perimeter...
 
EWCguy said:
You mean you taped all the internal seams together on the underside (as you laid them) and then taped the outside edge to the stage floor? Sounds easy, yes. We've put the MSD down with screws, taped the seams topside & painted. Dancing & acting galore without any walls or furniture holding the floor in place. Would we expect that kind of non-floating behavior without the screws? Ooh, maybe just a few screws on the perimeter...
Click to expand...

Correct to interpretation. It was 1/8" ply, not hardboard. Did not buckle or float over several weeks.
 
We've used ramboard for years to cover the hardwood floor on our little stage. It's been at least 5 years (~25 productions + rehearsals, etc.) and it's still serviceable. It's needed changing for the last 2 years but we just tape the tears and keep using it. It's been painted at least 20 times. You have to be a bit careful if you're sliding furniture and heavy items during scene changes.
 
Update It did manage to take paint, We had to use a floor paint and a matte coat poly on top of it. It seemed to be a cost-effective solution for something that is a one time and done problem.
 
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