Rehearsal deck finishing

[mbroughton02]

The floor in our rehearsal space was falling apart so I installed a new one. It is topped with masonite. I know there are several threads here regarding stage floors, but none with only rehearsal in mind. Here's what makes this different:

1) The rehearsal floor endures an insane amount of spike tape. We tape out entire sets for 5 musicals a year.

2) I do not necessarily need the finish to be black.

3) This is in a finished room, not on a stage or in a theater at all. Constant repainting like we all do on our stage floors isn't a good option because of all the extra time spent taping all around the perimeter to ensure no paint gets on the walls, mirrors, etc. And maybe I just don't think I should have to repaint a rehearsal floor more than once every couple of years.

I'm looking for a way to prime / paint / seal the masonite that doesn't come up with the spike tape.

The best thing I can think of right now is Tough Prime, then a good quality flat black exterior paint, then at least two coats of sealer. I'm not sure if the exterior paint is necessary, but I do know that masonite has zero tolerance for moisture so I wanted to do something meant for exterior use somewhere along the line. Also, in my experience Tough Prime doesn't really get me to the true black I want (If I'm doing black at all), so I thought it would be good to do something between it and the sealer. Or what if I skip the tough prime and black all together and just do 3-4 coats of sealer?

Am I on the right track? Any better ideas? What kind of sealer?

--
Michael Broughton
Facilities and Technical Manager
Merry Go Round Playhouse, Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival

 

[lwinters630]

A high quality laminate floor like pergo but better will not lift from tape marks. you can get it in black. Check with local flooring store (not big orange).

 

[jonliles]

The floor in our rehearsal space was falling apart so I installed a new one. It is topped with masonite. I know there are several threads here regarding stage floors, but none with only rehearsal in mind. Here's what makes this different:

1) The rehearsal floor endures an insane amount of spike tape. We tape out entire sets for 5 musicals a year.

2) I do not necessarily need the finish to be black.

3) This is in a finished room, not on a stage or in a theater at all. Constant repainting like we all do on our stage floors isn't a good option because of all the extra time spent taping all around the perimeter to ensure no paint gets on the walls, mirrors, etc. And maybe I just don't think I should have to repaint a rehearsal floor more than once every couple of years.

Since this is just a room, why not polyurethane the floor? Tape wont stick as well, but it will prevent the the maso from being pulled up. An added benefit of the poly is it makes mopping easier and in general helps the pain last longer. Also, could you use a paint pen instead of spike marks - then just touch up the new "spike marks" with paint. In our black box, we generally use diluted waterbased poly to seal the floor for every show. The dilution keeps the floor from being too shiny.


You could always warm the tape with a hairdryer to soften the adhesive. A little water and fabric softener will remove the goo.

 

[BillConnerFASTC]

Linoleum - like Marmoleum - is my preferred surface for rehearsal. Easy to maintain, very long life, good slip resistance. Or one of the marley like products.

Having to paint, I'd choose Rosco Tough Prime or other 100% acrylic paint. You can get other than black Tough Prime.