The lower deck backdrops are finished and installed. Surprisingly, everything went according to plan with no hiccups or oops along the way. That rarely happens for me. Working on the floor looking up while fastening everything together was not a lot of fun the first time around so I did something about it for the reinstallation. I present to you the crate creeper:
A couple long milk crates wired onto a cheapie creeper from Harbor Freight topped with foam mats makes for a mighty fine ride. Check out that custom headrest. All funning aside, it works great. It is the perfect height for rolling under the lower deck benchwork. My head just clears the bottom of the benchwork and I can reach all the way to the top of the backdrop. No more crawling around on the floor for me.
Fixing slots
Before I took down each backdrop I marked some of the slots that didn’t line up well with reference marks and cut/fill indications. Some were simply too deep while others were slightly offset. To remedy them I made the necessary jig saw cuts and then glued filler pieces flush to the backdrop surface. After some round file work and an initial sanding the slot fixes were filled same as the screw heads.
Drywall mud and 220 grit sandpaper
Ready for paint
Masking tape was placed across the bottom of each panel to prevent me from painting over the alignment marks which have corresponding marks on the benchwork. Each panel received two coats of Behr Serene Sky and were left to dry for a week.
Corner brace
Once each of the corner panels were installed I added the rear brace making sure the benchwork was flat and square before drilling and screwing the brace.
Final result
All in all I am happy with the result. The seams are not as objectionable as I thought they would be. I think I can live with this.
See ya next time.
More excellent work, thanks for sharing your journey!
HNY, Alan – that’s an interesting ‘creeper’ you made! Looks comfortable! Does the background blue become the default ‘sky’ color or is there another reason you selected that color? Can’t wait for more!
Yes, the background blue is the sky color. Room walls, upper lighting fascia, and now the lower deck backdrops are all painted the same sky blue – Behr 540C-2 Serene Sky. The color was chosen because it closely matches the low horizon color of the real sky when viewed through the west facing windows at around noon.