Cyc wall painting
Taylor F. Johnson
I am assisting a local high school in staging Brigadoon. The stage
has a large (14'x60') plastered cyc wall, curved at the outside. It
would be nice to paint a background scene on the wall, but if this was
done the wall would have to be repainted to white after the production.
The school is expressing a concern that the paint would eventually build
up to the point that the wall would have to be stripped or replastered.
I know that you can buy for home use a strippable, paintable
wallpaper which could be replaced if the paint layers got too thick.
Would this be a reasonable solution? Is there a better one?
HowDow
a rare problem.
If the cyc is truly plaster and not wallboard, The school is
right to try and protect it from paint buildup. Any of us who
regularly work in soundstages with plaster cycs can tell of
horror stories of 1/4 inch thick paint eventually becoming too
heavy for the lath and pulling the plaster surface down with
it - usually the top finish layer of plaster, revealing the rough
coat beneath. This damage is then repaired by someone
with joint compound, but, even with plaster, the repaired area
is seldom invisible. I hate to be a conservationist about this,
but, taking the school's point of view, I understand their
position. If it is an older or historic installation, I agree more
so.
It IS possible to paint thinly, of course, but then you start
a cycle of "they did it for 'Brigadoon' why can't I paint it
for..." and on and on.
With regards to your wallpaper idea, the seams would likely
be visible but it may be possible if they were spackled smooth,
and the residue from the paste could be scrubbed or scraped off more easily
than paint, especially if you use wheatpaste or cornstarch to apply it.
You could apply gauze with wheat paste, let dry, and paint
that surface. The gauze is available in wide widths and
the low (14') height should make it a fairly simple job. Apply
an extra heavy layer of wheatpaste to help protect the plaster
surface. And mix it with a filler like whiting to weaken the solution
more. When you close, grab a corner of the gauze and
pull. Then scrape off the paste residue with water and a
scrub brush (not wire bristles!) In any event, DO A TEST FIRST!
btw, This technique of gauze over plaster was common in
the 1910s for the same reason. No one wanted enamel paint building up too many
coats on plaster walls, which
would be painted up to that time with casein which will
"chalk out" over time and leave the plaster natural as possible. When enamel
was specified, gauze was used as a base. The
paint filled the gauze but stopped at the wheatpaste
(because it was oil, not water based).
Then again, for all that work, you could just purchase a 14 x 60
foot canvas and paint that, hanging it over the cyc. less labor and
less mess, if you ask me.
hope that helps a little
harry darrow
tay...@fcg.net enquired:
Xjahn
In article <34F445B2...@fcg.net>, "Taylor F. Johnson" <tay...@fcg.net>
writes:
> It would be nice to paint a background scene on the wall, but if this
>was done the wall would have to be repainted to white after the
>production. The school is expressing a concern that the paint would
>eventually build up to the point that the wall would have to be stripped or
>replastered.
I'd be more concerned with being able to completely paint out the scene
painted on it. That would possibly require *many* coats.
> I know that you can buy for home use a strippable,
>paintable wallpaper which could be replaced if the paint layers got too
>thick. Would this be a reasonable solution? Is there a better one?
YOu'd still most likely have to re-paint the wall, after some scrubbing or
sanding. That product is meant to SIMPLIFY changing the color of
a room, not eliminate ALL the work.
I'd hang a drop in front of it, myself. It's easier to paint a drop
spread out on the floor than a wall. Plus, you'd have the drop
to use again.
}:-) XJahn, Equity Carpenter
{:-( Production Staff, Actor's Playhouse, Miami, FL
"Why don't you try acting, dear boy? It's much simpler!"
Laurence Olivier to Dustin Hoffman during the filming of Marathon Man
Russell Felt aka Rellik
I dunno, you would probably want to save the cyc wall and either get a
paintable backdrop if you have a baten close enough to the backstage wall,
or you could build up a wall of canvas flats in the back that covers the
cyc.