Bending doorskins

[Anonymous]

I am currently in the prestages of installing my layout in my basement. One of the things that I am trying to do before erecting of the tables and trackwork is to do all the room work such as drywall on the ceiling and prep work on the concrete walls for painting scenery, etc. One of the things my group of helpers and I would like to attempt is to put a radius wall in the corner and along the ceiling line. We've planned to use 1/8" door skins for an 18" radius. But how to get the door skins pre-trained to take this curve without undue stress and the possibility of popping loose when the tables and layout is up and running has us concerned. Has anyone come across this problem and solved it without any concerns? Or..., should we be considering some other type of material?

Hawk

[cacole]

I don't think a door skin will take that kind of bending without cracking unless you soak it for several days from the back to soften the wood. I've never tried doing this, so I don't know what might happen as it dries out after being put in place. Liquid Nails would hold it once it has dried, but the hard part would be keeping the door skin in position until the Liquid Nails sets up.

[k willy]

I think masonite would be a better choice of material. It is alot more flexable. The only thing i'ld add is that it should be sealed with paint to protect it from moisture and warping. Soaking a door skin will cause it to de-laminate and the grain of the wood could rise and lose i'ts smooth finish.
I used linoleum flooring on my railroad, bought from a local flooring company. I asked for left over material. Glue the finish side to the wall with Liquid Nails. The corners were formed with masonite, then covered with linoleum. The linoleum leaves a seemless surface that accepts paint well. Once glued, I used a short length of closet pole to roll the suface out. This smoothed the surface and provided better contact and adhesion to the wall.

[Anonymous]

Linoleum flooring..., That sounds like an excelent idea! Has anyone else used this stuff for this, and how was their results?

[johncolley]

Hawk, I have used Lino flooring for backdrop. I did a 1x2 +1x2 "L" screwed into the studs at the top and small nails at 6 - 8" centers through the lino. I left it free around the corners and it radiused very nicely to 6 -8" radius, as long as you keep the top level. The finished side in leaves a smooth surface out which takes latex paint real well, Sky blue a little darker at the top and lighter at the bottom then stencil on the clouds. See you at Monroe Feb 5th? John