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Alternative MC Surfaces?

Posted: November 30th, 2018, 5:27 am
by Pianosun
Hi, I just found out about MC, backcoating, resizing, all that jazz. I was wondering if it would be possible for me to use the house or garage floor as a surface. I don’t have any flat glass or metal available and my mirror is too small. Also, is it easy to clean MC off the surface when you finish? Thanks!

Re: Alternative MC Surfaces?

Posted: December 1st, 2018, 4:54 pm
by AxolotlBottle
I'm not sure it would be a particularly good idea to use a floor (The MC will stick every bit of dust and dirt to the paper). I Use a large Sheet of Plexiglass I bought from a local hardware store. If you're able to buy one they work quite well.

Re: Alternative MC Surfaces?

Posted: December 1st, 2018, 4:59 pm
by Pianosun
Thank you!

Re: Alternative MC Surfaces?

Posted: December 1st, 2018, 6:44 pm
by sable7
I second what AxolotlBottle says. You can also use pretty much any plastic sheet, which should be easily obtainable. I use one and it works great. I don’t clean it very thoroughly because the remnant dried MC isn’t that noticeable, but if you cared then I would say yes, it is easy to clean off.

Hope this helps!

Re: Alternative MC Surfaces?

Posted: December 1st, 2018, 6:51 pm
by origami_8
I guess it really depends on what kind of floor you have. The old wooden floor in my flat definitely wouldn't be suitable.
Plexiglass can be quite expensive but has the advantage of being quite break resistant. A cheaper option might be to buy a frameless picture frame. These are made from a thin glass plate clipped to some very thin chipboard, so you have to take care not to break it. Apart from that it works really great, is pretty cheap and easy to get.

Re: Alternative MC Surfaces?

Posted: December 1st, 2018, 10:15 pm
by Baltorigamist
I use acrylic, and I've never had any problems aside from a corner chipping off. It's fairly cheap by my judgment--about $25-30 for a 30" by 40" piece.

Re: Alternative MC Surfaces?

Posted: December 2nd, 2018, 3:50 am
by Tankoda
You can even use corrugated plexiglass, which is what they use for political signs.
Extra inexpensive.

Re: Alternative MC Surfaces?

Posted: December 6th, 2018, 3:38 pm
by steingar
Oh for Odin's sake, a big piece of glass costs nothing at a hardware store. I used a glass tabletop for years. Now I use a big piece of framed art inherited from a friend. Its hideous, but the face is glass and its big enough to backcoat just about anything.

Re: Alternative MC Surfaces?

Posted: April 29th, 2019, 12:01 am
by sattej
I also use a picture frame with glass, I like glass because it's easy to clean with a razor blade and gives a good finish. For my frame, I got a super budget picture frame with the biggest piece of glass I could find, and then I put caulk on the edge of the back side to glue it (flexibly) in place. This has lasted me almost 10 years, it is easy to carry around and transport and the frame protects the glass. And, I can have sheets drying on both sides of it if I am impatient.

More recently, I got a quote from a glass shop near my home to cut me a 30" x 30" square of 1/4" thickness glass plate, making sure to specify to them to "bevel edges" (this gives the nice smooth angled edges, otherwise the edges will be razor sharp). This is the same dimension as my desk at 30" so it fits perfectly. This could be a good approach if you have a working space that you want a glass plate for, cost is pretty reasonable to do this. I'm sure cost goes up as size gets larger.

For very largest sizes, I am inclined to agree with previous posters and go with either plexiglass or corrugated plastic... probably corrugated. Plexiglass actually gets really expensive as size gets large. And glass is too heavy and dangerous that it could break, unless you have a specific place that you will put it and not move, such as a very large table.