Self made clayboard.

erwin de pan

Mac-Valve Maestro!
I try to make a clayboard myself.
I used the recipe from this site.
https://jimyarbrough.wordpress.com/2010/08/23/how-to-make-your-own-clayboard/
But have some problems to build up the layers.
If I build up a new layer.
It resolves the previous layer.
The layers are also very soft. (More like plaster.)
Do not know if it needs to dry longer.
Or that I need to use more glue.
Switch to PVA glue?
What are your thoughts?
All help is welcome thanks Erwin
 
I think when you are trying to make this stuff on your own there are too many variables for us to tell you where you went wrong if you have went wrong at all, the information could well be wrong in your link, or you could simply have too much of one thing and not enough of the other, I personally wouldn't bother trying to make my own clayboard, I would much rather paint than experiment with stuff.

I did used to make my own gessoed boards though, and to make the gesso behave more like clayboard you can about 5% to 10% PVA glue to the gesso, I would just lay this onto 4mm MDF which Praxis and Gamma will cut to size for you free of charge.

Another tip, I'm sure in the Netherlands you have heard of the bargain store "Action" , they frequently sell Van Dijk gesso reduclously cheap, I mean like a half litre for €1, sometimes €2, it was always different but still very cheap, whenever I went there I would buy all they had in stock, usually up to six bottles, you just can't find the stuff cheaper anywhere else.

Another alternative is to try this stuff which you can also apply to MDF, or any other material for that matter, you can find it at any "Verf Groothandle" also in water based, if you apply it with a foam roller it flows naturally to a beautiful flat surface and all it needs is a light scuff to airbrush on.
 
Hi,

I have been making my own claybord for a while now, origianlly I tried the rabbit skin glue but then switched to PVA glue. Here is a link to a YouTube video I did for Fred showing my procress.


I use a ration of 1 part PVA glue to two parts Clay and as much pigment as I need depending on how white I want the resulting board.

Hope this helps :)
 
Thanks
I have seen the video several times.
It seems much easier than with the rabbit glue.
Does this mix not dissolve when you apply the next layer?
 
No, the force drying with the hear gun ensures the first layer is fully cured.

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Thats great Steve, I think i can manage that so might have a go myself. I got loads of board and pva so just have to get the clay and titanium white. Just to confirm in my brain do you heat gun each layer? Do you sand the edges?

Lee
 
Thats great Steve, I think i can manage that so might have a go myself. I got loads of board and pva so just have to get the clay and titanium white. Just to confirm in my brain do you heat gun each layer? Do you sand the edges?

Lee
Yep heat gun each layer , sand each layer and clean up the edges at the end.

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Do you think it would spray through a mini gun Steve, a 1.8 or 2.0 ? It seems thin enough.
@Malky , you sprayed the gesso on your boards, was it as thin as the clay?

Lee
 
Do you think it would spray through a mini gun Steve, a 1.8 or 2.0 ? It seems thin enough.
@Malky , you sprayed the gesso on your boards, was it as thin as the clay?

Lee

I sprayed the gesso thinned with water 50/50 using a 0.8 mini gun, I didn't force dry though because it cracked if I did that, I don't know about the clay but looking at it Steve's video I would you could spray it with your 1.8 easy.
 
Cheers Malky, it will be a good option if i do it. Got to get in the mood first. My get up and go has got up and gone lol.
 
Cheers Malky, it will be a good option if i do it. Got to get in the mood first. My get up and go has got up and gone lol.
It’s that time of year Jordo, I’ve a couple of Dru’s classroom in a box’s waiting to be done, I did plan to but didn’t get two consecutive days to paint as I like to finish them while I’m in the zone. I spent the last two days putting paint protection on my car and detailing it. It looks pretty for now. The first bird to fly over had better not leave any messages !!
I’m following this thread to seen if it’s proven this will flow through the guns ok. If so it will be awesome, I can feel some large projects coming :)
 
I recon it will looking at the consistency, up the psi a bit to make sure. If Malky sprayed gesso then this should work too. Only had 2 days work in dec so not much money coming in next week, hopefully Jan will be better and i may have a few pounds spare in feb's pay to get some clay and titanium oxide. I got the rest and a gun with a 2.0 setup. I will give it a try unless someone else beats me to it.
 
I recon it will looking at the consistency, up the psi a bit to make sure. If Malky sprayed gesso then this should work too. Only had 2 days work in dec so not much money coming in next week, hopefully Jan will be better and i may have a few pounds spare in feb's pay to get some clay and titanium oxide. I got the rest and a gun with a 2.0 setup. I will give it a try unless someone else beats me to it.
I used Bean recipe and sprayed with 0.6 mm at 25 psi, let it dry in the sun for 10 min, then sand it with 400/600/800 grit and so on!! It is a piece of cake, my only issue is that didn't find any titanium powder!! It ended up been a very hard surface and can be erased and scratch without any issue, I will try miau tutorial on them when get some free time


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i found the clay and titanium oxide on ebay at a good price but you will get the pva at ant diy store. You might even get it all at michaels or hobby lobby.. Dont forget the coupon..

Lee
 
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I still had some old PVC glue.
And the result is much better.
Today I go to the store for new glue.
The old one was very thick and needed a lot of water to make it thinner.
There are different names on my pocket with clay.
Kaolin, pipe earth, china clay, Terre di pipe, Caolino.
Maybe that makes it easier to find.
 
I bougth in my country 4 kg caolin clay at 10 dolars. I get to 1 kg of titanium dioxide at 10 bucks too.

Now I am ready to test following steve’s method. Titaniun powder only need between 5 and 10%, as the manufacterer indications says.




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Hi Beanpoleuk. Does your homemade claybord allow for easy erasing and scratching like the official Ampersand does? I'd like to find a cheap alternative as I want to work on a large scale and the large boards cost £250+.
 
Hi Beanpoleuk. Does your homemade claybord allow for easy erasing and scratching like the official Ampersand does? I'd like to find a cheap alternative as I want to work on a large scale and the large boards cost £250+.
Yep, acts just like the real stuff , I however adjusted the glue ratio to make mine just a bit more absorbant than rhe real stuff. If you increase the glue ratio a bit you can match the ampersand claybord.

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