Battle Mat Ghosts

[Dannyalcatraz]

Every 3rd encounter...sigh, this river again?

We always did just go with the flow.
BA dum bum KRSSSSSH

 

[Rabulias]

Years ago, someone accidentally drew a river on one of my Chessex mats using permanent markers. Oops.

Way back in the early 1990s, one of my fellow players helpfully added 2-square oval blobs (representing our horses at camp) to a Chessex map, and yes it was with a regular Sharpie. The phrase "permanent horses" entered our group's lexicon that day, as a way to describe this very common mistake.

 

[aramis erak]

Think beer would work better...trust me, Ive used the latter. Spic and Span depending on the scum youre looking to get rid of.

Rubbing alcohol is better.
Note also: some colors are worse than others.
gray-barrelled Staedtler markers are better than Vis-a-vis markers.
Black barrelled Staedler markers require alcohol to erase; don't use them on vinyl mats. But they work great on page protectors...

 

[R_J_K75]

Rubbing alcohol is better.
Note also: some colors are worse than others.
gray-barrelled Staedtler markers are better than Vis-a-vis markers.
Black barrelled Staedler markers require alcohol to erase; don't use them on vinyl mats. But they work great on page protectors...

I've always used the Vis-a-Vis and generally never had a problem unless its really hot in the summer or have the heat turned up higher than normal and dont wipe them off within a few hours. I tried spray with bleach, and diluted bleach with no luck. I'll try rubbing alcohol and gray-barrelled Staedtler markers and see what happens. Ive been looking into other mats than Chessex on Amazon and this seems a common problem which comes down to how long the marker is left on the mat rather than the material or marker used.

There's a material they sell at Lowes and Home Depot that's white, about 1/8" thick and comes in sheets thats used specifically to line the walls of bathroom showers. I cant remember what its called but I used to make battle mats by scoring lines in it. Anyone know what its called?

EDIT: Its called 1/8" Panelboard made by DPI (Decorative Panels International. Its alot cheaper than a vinyl mat. Just takes a bit to lay out and score.

 

[aramis erak]

I've seen both square and hex gridded vinyl on rolls at various fabric shops over the years. Also, shower curtains. Usually 1" grids. Both of which are usually much cheaper than the gaming specific mats, and much easier to erase.

 

[R_J_K75]

I've seen both square and hex gridded vinyl on rolls at various fabric shops over the years. Also, shower curtains. Usually 1" grids. Both of which are usually much cheaper than the gaming specific mats, and much easier to erase.

I may do some more investigation, but think I can get a few more miles out of my current one.

 

[dbm]

I’ve found Coke / Pepsi can be useful as a cleaning product … yes we discover this accidentally! (But it’s true - presumably the acidic properties)

 

[tetrasodium]

Acetone is another somewhat destructive solution like the eraser. Do. Not. leave acetone on the mat, wipe it off along with whatever it was on.