# Scrim Painting Issue :(



## Pixie (Apr 5, 2009)

Ok, I have browsed all the previous forums on painting a scrim and couldn't find anything to help me with the issue i have.
My technical director painted a scrim with brown paper underneath with the design drawn on it. it worked great.. until we went to pull it off. The brown paper has stuck in some parts. 
What is the best way, and easiest/quickest to get the paper off of the back?
Also, for the future... what can be used instead of brown paper to have the image drawn on to transfer over to the scrim. The paper helped absorb the access paint, but obviously absorbed too much and got stuck 
Thanks


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## icewolf08 (Apr 6, 2009)

Really, the most effective way to paint scrims is by spraying. As we have done a bunch of painted scrim work this season and last, I have seen it done quite a few times. The caveat being that we have a full size vertical paint frame and an amazing scenic artist whom I have great respect for (it amazes me how people can take an 18" rendering and paint a 60' drop while standing four feet away from it!). In the future, the solution is to either pounce your pattern onto the scrim or to set the pattern such that it is not in contact with the scrim.


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## derekleffew (Apr 6, 2009)

Pixie said:


> ... what can be used instead of brown paper to have the image drawn on to transfer over to the scrim. The paper helped absorb the access paint, but obviously absorbed too much and got stuck
> Thanks


If memory serves, and it's been 25 years since I've painted a scrim, rosin paper.

The best way to remove the stuck painted brown paper is probably just the wet the back with water in a spray bottle, then peel off.


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## Van (Apr 6, 2009)

Gotta agreed with Derek. You're best bet is to stand the piece up and using a Hudson filled with lukewarm, water spray the back of the scrim and start peeling. It's going to be a MAJOR PITA. A very similar thing happened to me a couple of years ago with a young Scenic painter. 

Rosin Paper, available at almost any home improvement store, is a really great answer to this particular issue. Rosin paper, formally known in the Scenic Art community as Bogus Paper, is also available from Rose Brand, Norcostco, or your local Theatrical supplier. < it's MUCH cheaper at Home depot or Lowes however> You simply roll out the rosin paper on the floor first, use a bit of masking tape on the seams here and there, and Viola' you've got a "virtually" non-stick painting surface.
Proper layout of the scrim is also really important. Since not all of us are as lucky as SOME to have a vertical paint frame, we have to get creative. One way to do this is to lay 2x4 on it's face all the way around a drop then lightly stretch the drop, as the drop sizes it will tend to pull itself off the floor. A drop painting bridge can also be used. In one or two places on the perimeter of the drop build a small looking bridge, typically one 6" x 24"x 3/4" piece of ply wood two pieces @ 7 - 8" and one piece at 12" on top with a couple of small supports this is screwed down to the deck then the drop is stapled to it as your are tacking down the edge. You then use a squirrel cage floor fan, or whatever fan you happen to have, to blow air in, under neath the drop. This will help dry the drop and keep it separated from the floor except in the place where you are standing on it painting. 
Hmm I feel a bit of drawing coming on, Think I'll draw a bridge real quick and post it in the Wikki. 
Hope some of that helps. I know it wasn't all about scrim painting but I was on a roll.


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## Pixie (Apr 6, 2009)

Thanks Van. We had built a 2 X 4 frame for the scrim and did it just like you asked, minus the bridge. it worked great, except for the brown paper. I told my TD about the bogus paper. She laughed and told me she loved when her students got smarter than her. So i admitted about you guys 
Thanks so much, we're gonna look into the Rosin/Bogus Paper for next time


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## FatherMurphy (Apr 6, 2009)

The 'bridge and fan' tactic can be useful, but like most things, can also be overdone. A certain scenic painter of my acquaintance tried that once with far too big a fan, and the muslin drop filled with air and billowed up off the floor in an attempt at forming a hemisphere. The painter, quite impressed with this and convinced that it would now dry extra fast, went ahead with his painting, and left the fan on until all was dry. The paint, of course, locked the fabric into the hemisphere shape, and when it came time to hang the drop, there was no power on earth that was going to make it hang flat. Many and glorious were the new profanities invented by the crew as they struggled....


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## scenerymaker (Apr 7, 2009)

If you put a little (a few drops per gallon) hand dish washing soap (not machine detergent) in the water, it will soak into the paper MUCH better.


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