I'll be trying this one....

This is an excellent idea.  (Rick, you should have waited! - kidding of course)

Bill, you are correct;

Looks like a neat idea....

I may try it someday but I've never experienced any real problems with Masonite hard board. People sometimes make it out like  it a hassle to work with but my dealings with it have always been relatively painless. Guess maybe I'm just lucky....

Michael

In my case...

I'll be painting my sky directly on the wall.

Originally I was thinking of using aluminum sheet coil, then I discovered the Styrene idea.

All of these will make transitions much better than trying to somehow mate to Masonite and this certainly solves the problems with working with cumbersome pieces of metal or sheets of plastic.

Vinyl Flashing Backdrop Works

I'm in the process of installing 50 feet of vinyl flashing as the backdrop on the upper deck of my railroad.  This includes working it around two peninsulas. I've used masonite many time in the past - including the lower deck - and if you work with it carefully it does the job.  However, the added weight, extra seams, curve limitations,etc pointed to a need for something different.  While, I'm using a different glue than the article's (tub surround glue) its pretty straight forward to work with.  One word of caution it is possible to introduce ripples if you're not careful. Oh, in some applications you might need some small spring clamps to support things while the glue dries.  All in all, I like using the stuff.

Rick

Aluminum flashing

FYI, while I agree about the potential for cuts, dents, and blood, there is at least one adhesive that'll bond aluminum flashing.to Masonite.  About a year ago I replaced the stub-ended Masonite backdrop at the end of my peninsula with a balloon-type backdrop made from aluminum flashing layered over the Masonite, as documented at  http://www.iaisrailfans.org/gallery/10-7-2012-update .  I found that "Amazing E-6000" adhesive,  http://www.michaels.com/E-6000%C2%AE/gc0181,default,pd.html , did the trick.  The aluminum/Masonite joint hasn't shown any signs of movement or failure in the 13 months since.

Searching on-line just now, it appears to be available at Home Depot and Michaels among many other places.  I'm pretty sure my wife bought our tube at Hobby Lobby.

Glue for Roll Aluminum

Supra Expert is the defacto glue for sheet rolled aluminum. It bonds to just about anything.

http://www.eaglesealants.com/Supra_Expert_Thermoplastic.page

In fact, if you take a 2x4 and bond it to concrete with this stuff, if you try really hard to break the joint, the concrete is what breaks.

...

Masonite is nice, BUT it's heavy and it only coves down to perhaps 1.5' radius at best.

Masonite Radius

Benny, 1/8" Masonite will bend much sharper. Just show it some love and roll the curve slowly during installation.

Masonite radius?

     Below about 12 inch radius the corner is more likely to show as it does in the vinyl corner in the article. I'm doing 12 inch corners on my new backdrop using lauan curves plywood blended into masonite flat panels. Stapling it to plywood sawn curved frames top and bottom. Joints will be bondo'd and sanded before   painting. First photo shows the curved formers, second shows the plywood stapled in place.....DaveB 

...

9" radius which is an 18" diameter, or otherwise, a 1.5' diameter...like I said...

aha, so I wrote 1.5' radius...

Look, Been there, done that... Masonite is heavy, it's resistent to being worked, you can't cut it with razor knife...

Fantastic

I was sure I was going to have to go with styrene and hope it would be effective in my tighter areas (like the 120 degree cove on as small as diameter as i can manage.)  This vinyl flashing approach sounds fantastic.  I can;t wait to see how it does for me!

-Ed

backdrops

I used 1/8" untempered hardboard painted sky blue for my backdrops independent of room walls.  I curved the board in corners and in one spot created a "balloon" curve back onto itself.  Joints are taped and spackled like drywall.  One continuous piece (with joints and curves) is 35 feet long.  I have experienced no expansion/contraction problems over 20 years.  I installed it all myself.

Order some yesterday

 Thanks Bernie, I can't wait to get my roll from the Home Depot. The guy in the store didn't even know they had the product. He found it on the computer and it's free delivery to my home. I have masonite up already, held to the poured concrete walls with liquid nails, but I had just begun to tape and spackle it. Now I will use the vinyl directly on the wall where the masonite ends.Then I may even cover the existing masonite to save tape and spackle work and for the seamless look. Any thoughts on vinyl over masonite... any foreseeable problems... comments welcomed.. Joe

I like it!

Lightweight and easy. I've coved corners with masonite. It is very heavy and awkward to install and required the installation of a furred out backdrop to attach it to. Screwing it was difficult too because the screws needed to be countersunk so they could be hidden and it's not easy to countersink screws in 1/8" masonite. I've also used metal, and it's prone to denting then it doesn't look good at all. So this method looks like a winner in my eyes.

any foreseeable problems

Using this product over other products with joints that are not smooth might cause the joints behind it to telegraph through it.

Anybody have experience with this?

I'm all about the drywall

I use 1/4" drywall that I wet and pre-curve before hanging.  Yes, it's a lot of work but it will never crack or warp.  I hear a lot of people say "I don't like drywalling."  Neither do I, but every other method I've ever seen doesn't look as good.

I am also considering experimenting with quartering 24" diameter Sonotubes.  They're already curved to a 12" radius so all you have to do is rip them, hang them, skim coat them with drywall mud and sand.

Invisible corners

I curve both the ceiling and the room corners, which creates a challenge where they meet.  I made a concave plaster dish and blend it in with more mud and sanding.  Completely seamless.

SonoTube

I did this for a curved wall end in my layout room so the backdrop could round an otherwise square corner. works great., but I laminated several sonotubes together to make the corner strong.

"corners with masonite. It is very heavy"

I guess it depends on what you are comparing it to as I find masonite very light weight (compared to 1/2 inch sheetrock for instance). I don't screw it , I nail it with a brad nailer..DaveB

I hear a lot of people say "I don't like drywalling."

 I don't mind drywalling since I've done so much of it in the house over the years but I find it too much of a production and too permanent for the type of layouts I like to build.If I get in the mood to change the concept, the configuration or the scale I don't want a big sheetrocked wall to deter me :> ) ....DaveB

...

Compared to sheet styrene, linoleum, or even 1/2" foam board, I have used it and it worked as well.  Any one f these methods can be torn out in as little as one minute.

Thank you-I was on my way to buy masonite

Thank you,

Here in Europe one must pay to bring this stuff home--no roof toting allowed as in the US. 50 feet of vinyl-even I can tote it home in my cart on the S-Bahn (metro)

joeldee/Berlin

Getting it home

Not many do that here in the states either.  We use the good old V8 powered pickup truck for that duty and throw cargo in the back.  A different world.