Storage, Care and Feeding of your Combat mat (tm)

guedo79 said:

I'm afraid of my map melting or warping if I leave it in the car. Plus I like the idea of something hard so I can stand it up.

We don't leave it in the car, should have been more clear. Yes, something hard to store it in is good. We should do that as well. It'll keep cat hair off the mat as well...
 

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dagger

Adventurer
No plexi does not roll up at all. Plexi glass is basically like glass but it is plastic and does not shatter and cut you too ribbons. Not nearly as heavy and its cheap as heck.


We just keep a sheet of plexi at the location (or locations)we play at.

They are easy to move though, not very large (depending on how big you get them cut).



You COULD (dont ask me where to go or how much cause i don't know) possibly get it encased in plexi or some other hard clear substance, but you wouldnt be able to roll it up. The thing would last for dang near eternity this way though.
 
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dagger

Adventurer
Just by doing the little things (common sense stuff mostly) they will last a long time. By using the plexi, keeping the thing out of the sun, not using it as a table cloth :), and not writing on it . I have had the same hex battle mat for almost 10 years, and it is in very good condition, almost new.
 


orbitalfreak

First Post
For the coating, you might look at a simple lamination job. You could then write on it with dry-erase or transparency markers, I believe (not much experience if those two would work well on laminated materials; don't know if they smear or what-not).
 

Archade

Azer Paladin
Something else to beware of, and I speak from experience.

If you are using overhead markers, avoid using the red one, especially if you are going to leave something drawn on the mat for more than an hour. It stains the mat horribly.

Also, when cleaning, get liquid soap and water it down. It works really well.

Archade
 

guedo79

Explorer
yeah. on my smaller mat I drew a nice lava filled area and forgot to clean it off.

A year later I've still got a red square on my mat. I haven't used the red marker since. Though I still carry it around. Not sure why.
 


mmu1

First Post
Rolling? Tubes? Soap? Plexi? Protection from the sun? :eek: What are these things you speak of?

My battlemat so far has gotten folded and carried around squished between books and mini cases and, on occasion, had marker left on it for a couple of weeks. It actually hasn't hurt it very much... A few creases and discolorations, but doesn't interefere with drawing on it in any way...

Oh, and then there was the hot wax episode, which is what happens when you leave it with a friend who lights candles to set the mood and sets them on a table covered with a battlemat and minis. :D On the plus side, once you scrape the wax off, it turns out that old marker stains tend to come away with it...
 


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