# Plywood seams & monster mud question



## sedgewickhotel (Nov 25, 2007)

Hi again, everyone.

Still working on my Cemetery columns. I framed them out of 2x3's and covered with plywood (luan, I believe). I intended to cover them in foam and then carve away. The problem is that I am already behind (party is in 45 days, yikes!), and I would need to spend an extra $300 in tools and equipment to do the foam.

Luckily, I feel like I can just paint the columns this year, and cover them in foam with an "upgrade" next year. Since I wasn't planning on "seeing" the plywood, I didn't take my time and measure/cut perfectly. My seams are far from exact. They're quite messy actually. Just because I can use a saw and hammer does not make me a carpenter.

Anyways, whats the best way to fill in seams? I was thinking some kind of silicone caulk. It would be easy to apply and paint.

Also, has anyone ever tried coating plywood in monster mud? Does it stick? I want to give these columns some texture.

Thanks in advance!


----------



## kciaccio (Jul 27, 2007)

Im sure it could work. I used wood putty on my gaps.


----------



## kciaccio (Jul 27, 2007)

I also added texture additive to my paint and it gave it texture like it was made out of concrete.


----------



## kciaccio (Jul 27, 2007)




----------



## kciaccio (Jul 27, 2007)




----------



## hedg12 (Jul 6, 2008)

Painters caulk. Cheap and easy, and you can smooth it out and blend it into the wood easily. Not sure about monster mud sticking to wood.


----------



## Bloodhound (Oct 16, 2007)

The Monster Mud will/should stick. Be sure to dampen the wood with water prior to applying the mud. Apply in thin layers. Let each layer dry completly. They use this same method when texturing cielings.


----------



## The_Caretaker (Mar 6, 2007)

Yes it sticks, i made my columns from OSB and then use monster mud light (less paint) to coat for a smooth finish,


----------



## 1031fan (Feb 6, 2007)

yeah - MM will stick - ive used it to texture walls in my haunt and it stood up to hundreds of people rubbing against it and bumping into it...might want to to go heavy on the paint and light on the JC for the ratio on the first coat - the latex will give it the adheasion properties you need and then the second coat will grab the light texture perfectly - Riley


----------



## sedgewickhotel (Nov 25, 2007)

Thanks so much for the comments everyone. Having a forum like this is awesome. I'll report back this weekend with my progress and pics.


----------



## Zombie Manor (Sep 11, 2008)

kciaccio said:


>


looks good.


----------



## sedgewickhotel (Nov 25, 2007)

I did two sides of one column last night. The Monster Mud went on pretty good, and looks/feels great this morning. The mixture was a lot soupier than I remember it being. I almost feel like I could have put it on with a paint roller, instead of the trowel that I was using. I'm glad I put down a drop cloth because it was dripping everywhere.

Since there were conflicting opinions on whether to use more or less paint, I tried both ways. I'm happy to report it didn't make much of a difference, and ended up combining both mixtures at the end of the night.

I guess where I'm at now is deciding if the texture I got from blotting the mud, and then smoothing with the trowel is enough. It looks like plaster, which might be ok, because I realize a lot of cemetery columns in real life are plaster over brick. Its convincing. I may take the route of painting what I have with texture additive, but I'm not sure that will give a convincing look of stone. Regardless of which route I take, I'll definitely be doing some shading and watery runs of greens and browns for aging purposes.


----------



## sedgewickhotel (Nov 25, 2007)

*Progress update:*
I have one column almost completely covered. My goal is to have all 4 columns completely covered and "ready for paint" by the end of the weekend. I used foam skulls from the "bags of bones" you see everywhere (incredibly overpriced, might I add). I cut them in half and filled in the rear gaps with great stuff. They'll be held in place by silicone.


----------



## ruafraid (Jan 3, 2006)

You might want to try Bondo it comes on gallon cans at Pep Boys for not too much $$ its water proof it can be sanded it can be painted and it sticks to wood and metal and fiberglass. You can make whatever texture you want. You have to work with smaller portions depending on how much hardener you mix in but its very versatile.


----------



## Hellvin (Jul 6, 2008)

Those look great Wudden - I too have done my pillars in two stages. Last year I just did the carcass and barely had the primer dry before setting them up and this year I am going to give them a 1/2" foam covering with some texture, etc.


----------



## sedgewickhotel (Nov 25, 2007)

Some more pics... Finished, minus the paint.. I think... I might add one more layer of MM to the tops and bottoms of the smaller columns to hide the horizontal seam that runs the middle... Its slightly noticeable and might very well drive me crazy.


----------

