Urgent help needed with Mural Paint

S

Siouxzn

Guest
So, I am trying to finish up a huge display piece for our local Comicon in a couple of weeks. The display itself is complete and all the details save one.. the background canvas.

The background was SUPPOSED to be easy peasy (isn't that always the case).. I bought a large canvas (4 ft high by 15 ft long). Our display is 10ft by 8 ft... so the back of the display would be the majority of the canvas and then the remaining 5 ft would turn a corner and end. The painting was just going to be sky blue with a few clouds.

I had my helper use latex house paint to paint the canvas a light blue and then I was going to use my Iwata HVLP to fade some darker blue and then add some clouds.

Here is my issue now.. the canvas is wrinkled.. badly.. and we tried to stretch it onto a wood frame with snaps (so it could be removed) but it is still badly wrinkled and looks terrible.

I am running out of time and in a panic (without the background the whole display wont really look very good).

We are thinking of getting panelboard and gluing the canvas to it.. (or just starting over and painting the panelboard).

So first question... would gluing the canvas onto the panelboard cause me issues with airbrushing this? I do not have time to properly prep the canvas at all.. this is now a rush frantic job. or should I jsut scrap the canvas and paint the panelboard

And second question.. I tried using the latex house paint thinned down to run through the gun but its just difficult to work with.. with the sheer volume of paint needed, what are my other options for buying paint that I can use?? I have tons of airbrush paint but they are in small amounts.. if I start over with panelboard I still need to put a base coat on it.. and would rather start with sky blue so the remaining painting wont be much effort

Help.... your my only hope
 
and just for reference so you know what I am talking about (and because you are curious :p)

The last photo is the canvas.. sigh
 

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I think we are scrapping the canvas and just using hardboard at this point.. still wondering about a source for large volumes of paint that wont clog and ruin my guns
 
Unfortunately I don’t know enough about canvas to offer any help. But I’d guess that some type of board would be more resistant to the amount of paint that you’ll be putting down. I hope the board works out better for you.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Createx does a brand called Scenix specifically designed for murals

I’m very new to airbrushing so I don’t know anything about it other than it exists hth
 
JackEb said:
the first video is the 'go to' supplier for all things createx and Iwata here in Australia. Between MusicMacD and myself we've given him more $$ than we care to admit lol
Click to expand...
I love his videos where he shows little plastic car shapes with all the different colors on them so you get the feeling how that color looks. He got bunch of those videos on his channel.

https://www.youtube.com/user/AirbrushMegastore/playlists
 
If you are going to use panels. then take MDF that is used for the back of cabinets.
They are already white.
In the untreated you get brown discoloration when you use latex.
If you want to save the canvas. You can try to spray it wet with water and re-tighten the wet cloth.
Maybe it works.
 
Thank you everyone.. been working longgg days to try to get this background done.

I wish I would have seen your post Erwin, about the white MDF. That would have saved me a day.

Here is what I ended up doing:
I used tempered hardboard and put several coats of Gesso on, with fine sanding between each coat to keep it smooth. I did not have time to order the Mural paint so I found a recipe for making your own airbrush thinner and using it with craft acrylic (aka cheapest crap known to man)


I made up sooo much thinner (wasn't sure how much I would end up using for the 120 sq ft of surface I had to cover). I think I made up 100 ounces and ended up using 24

I bought folkart acrylic.. yes folks.. the crappiest stuff you can buy (my budget for this display was spent at this point so I did not want to fork out any more funds than I had to).

I have to say that even with a few tint issues ( a grey I tried to mix up looked olive so I didn't use it), the background turned out pretty good. I did not spend a lot of time working on the clouds (just ran out of time) so they are not that great.

But here is is the completed background.. each panel is 8 ft by 5ft wide and there are three. The other photo is the set display I made that goes in front of it.. In case your wondering, it is based on the Last Jedi, and the set will be filled with Porg nests and porgs taking over (because that is what they do).

a background.JPGa set.JPG

So if anyone is in Seattle between March 14-17, come by Emerald City Comicon and check out our Star Wars experience!

thanks again everyone, love this forum


Susan
 
Siouxzn said:
Thank you everyone.. been working longgg days to try to get this background done.

I wish I would have seen your post Erwin, about the white MDF. That would have saved me a day.

Here is what I ended up doing:
I used tempered hardboard and put several coats of Gesso on, with fine sanding between each coat to keep it smooth. I did not have time to order the Mural paint so I found a recipe for making your own airbrush thinner and using it with craft acrylic (aka cheapest crap known to man)


I made up sooo much thinner (wasn't sure how much I would end up using for the 120 sq ft of surface I had to cover). I think I made up 100 ounces and ended up using 24

I bought folkart acrylic.. yes folks.. the crappiest stuff you can buy (my budget for this display was spent at this point so I did not want to fork out any more funds than I had to).

I have to say that even with a few tint issues ( a grey I tried to mix up looked olive so I didn't use it), the background turned out pretty good. I did not spend a lot of time working on the clouds (just ran out of time) so they are not that great.

But here is is the completed background.. each panel is 8 ft by 5ft wide and there are three. The other photo is the set display I made that goes in front of it.. In case your wondering, it is based on the Last Jedi, and the set will be filled with Porg nests and porgs taking over (because that is what they do).

View attachment 58487View attachment 58488

So if anyone is in Seattle between March 14-17, come by Emerald City Comicon and check out our Star Wars experience!

thanks again everyone, love this forum


Susan
Click to expand...
That’s a great outcome. I’m pleased you managed to get it finished on time too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
The outcome was worth the headaches, you’ve done well. I hope your work was appreciated
 
Siouxzn said:
Thank you everyone.. been working longgg days to try to get this background done.

I wish I would have seen your post Erwin, about the white MDF. That would have saved me a day.

Here is what I ended up doing:
I used tempered hardboard and put several coats of Gesso on, with fine sanding between each coat to keep it smooth. I did not have time to order the Mural paint so I found a recipe for making your own airbrush thinner and using it with craft acrylic (aka cheapest crap known to man)


I made up sooo much thinner (wasn't sure how much I would end up using for the 120 sq ft of surface I had to cover). I think I made up 100 ounces and ended up using 24

I bought folkart acrylic.. yes folks.. the crappiest stuff you can buy (my budget for this display was spent at this point so I did not want to fork out any more funds than I had to).

I have to say that even with a few tint issues ( a grey I tried to mix up looked olive so I didn't use it), the background turned out pretty good. I did not spend a lot of time working on the clouds (just ran out of time) so they are not that great.

But here is is the completed background.. each panel is 8 ft by 5ft wide and there are three. The other photo is the set display I made that goes in front of it.. In case your wondering, it is based on the Last Jedi, and the set will be filled with Porg nests and porgs taking over (because that is what they do).

View attachment 58487View attachment 58488

So if anyone is in Seattle between March 14-17, come by Emerald City Comicon and check out our Star Wars experience!

thanks again everyone, love this forum


Susan
Click to expand...
Glad it worked, but some advice from a fellow muralist. This is fine for a temporary install, but if doing large scale work that you want to last, don't use MDF (will swell & crack from moisture), don't use pre-painted hardboard, use birch plywood covered in a minimum of 3 coats of gesso (sand each coat). You can get it in thin ply for smaller projects, up to 3/4" for large projects you don't want to warp. I spent 6 months doing an independent mural study, and made a "conservation grade" 8'x4' mural on 1/2" birch plywood. The board ran me about $50, and is easily available at most big box hardware, or lumber yards. It can take a beating (cutting, scratching, frisket), and if you take the time to build a good gesso coat it will be smooth as glass, and if you make a mistake you can just sand it.
 
crewchief227 said:
Glad it worked, but some advice from a fellow muralist. This is fine for a temporary install, but if doing large scale work that you want to last, don't use MDF (will swell & crack from moisture), don't use pre-painted hardboard, use birch plywood covered in a minimum of 3 coats of gesso (sand each coat). You can get it in thin ply for smaller projects, up to 3/4" for large projects you don't want to warp. I spent 6 months doing an independent mural study, and made a "conservation grade" 8'x4' mural on 1/2" birch plywood. The board ran me about $50, and is easily available at most big box hardware, or lumber yards. It can take a beating (cutting, scratching, frisket), and if you take the time to build a good gesso coat it will be smooth as glass, and if you make a mistake you can just sand it.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the advice!! I have seen first hand what MDF looks like after a year in storage. I am certain I will NOT be happy once this occurs to this particular job. Oh well, it was a rush job with funds on the light end. But I will certainly follow your suggestions next time :)
 
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