Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

We have a big plywood table dedicated to gaming at the office. Today at lunch I need to go to Home Depot and pick up some sand. We already have a giant jug of PVA, but I'm not sure if I need to look for anything special for sand. Do I just get a big bag of playground sand? I plan on brushing on the PVA semi-thickly, putting sand on top, then after it all dries putting another coat of PVA on. Anything I should do after that? Or am I missing a step?

Are you sure you want to base it at all? I've found that basing your board makes it harder to move miniatures over it.

If you can get beach sand, that's what I prefer due to the natural differences in the grains.

If no can do, playground sand works purty good too.

Brother Michael wrote:Are you sure you want to base it at all? I've found that basing your board makes it harder to move miniatures over it.

Yes. I vastly prefer textured surfaces for movement, it just feels better to me. I also want it to look good when painted, and this will make that super easy.

jasper76 wrote:If you can get beach sand, that's what I prefer due to the natural differences in the grains.

If no can do, playground sand works purty good too.

Playground sand it is then. I live in the middle of a desert, but it's more cakey and dusty than the texture I want sadly. And no beaches. :(

A 10kg bag of joint filling sand from the hardware is fine enough not to be too bouldery and big enough to do a couple of gaming boards and a lifetime of miniatures, and no sifting out the chunks.

All for less than $10.

I assume you plan to paint the surface after texturing? If so, I'd skip the second layer of glue. If you use an emulsion/latex house paint as a basecoat (which is, conveniently, pretty easy on the wallet), it will function in much the same capacity. Two birds with one stone.

Any sand that you can get your hands on would do, as long as that's the texture you want. I get mine from everywhere: construction sand, river sand, beach sand, kitty litter (UNUSED ONES!), what have you. Sand is sand, as long as it's clean.