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I bought the 34.5 x 48 Chessex vinyl battlemat from Paizo. It came rolled and squashed. When I lay it out on a table, the surface of the mat forms hills and valleys that cause miniatures to tip over and stop dice from rolling. These aren't creases; they're rolling folds.
I tried gently folding back along the folds. No good. I tried ironing the battlement under a towel. I produced a unique odor that my wife didn't love but failed to flatten the rolls even a smidge. I've now got the battlemat stretched flat on the floor with each corner held down by a six-inch stack of gaming books. No progress yet. Maybe by the year 2050.
Any advice on how to flatten this thing down? And what's the best way to roll it for transport to gaming sessions?
I bought the 34.5 x 48 Chessex vinyl battlemat from Paizo. It came rolled and squashed. When I lay it out on a table, the surface of the mat forms hills and valleys that cause miniatures to tip over and stop dice from rolling. These aren't creases; they're rolling folds.
I tried gently folding back along the folds. No good. I tried ironing the battlement under a towel. I produced a unique odor that my wife didn't love but failed to flatten the rolls even a smidge. I've now got the battlemat stretched flat on the floor with each corner held down by a six-inch stack of gaming books. No progress yet. Maybe by the year 2050.
Any advice on how to flatten this thing down? And what's the best way to roll it for transport to gaming sessions?
I've got an old hex mat from Chessex, maybe 15 years old. I wonder if they changed their vinyl because mine just needs to be rolled up for a day, then laid out an hour before playing on it and its flat.
In a hurry I've poured hot water over it on the patio which did a tremendous job. But again, mine is REALLY old.
Whatever you do, do not use dry erase markers on this! I picked up the wrong marker by accident and now mine has a huge ugly green boat drawn on the square side. My friends laugh at me each time I use it. Dry erase markers do not come off by any solvent I could get my hands on commerically. But I really loved it until I ruined it.
Whatever you do, do not use dry erase markers on this! I picked up the wrong marker by accident and now mine has a huge ugly green boat drawn on the square side. My friends laugh at me each time I use it. Dry erase markers do not come off by any solvent I could get my hands on commerically. But I really loved it until I ruined it.
Have you tried an abrasive cleaner? That might help a little bit.
Whatever you do, do not use dry erase markers on this! I picked up the wrong marker by accident and now mine has a huge ugly green boat drawn on the square side. My friends laugh at me each time I use it. Dry erase markers do not come off by any solvent I could get my hands on commerically. But I really loved it until I ruined it.
Use a wet-erase marker over the top of the dry erase, then erase. If there is still a trace of the dry erase marker, just repeat. The sooner you do this the better.
I had a player use a blue dry erase marker on my mat, and this trick worked great. There is not any sign of the dry erase remaining.
Lay it on a flat surface, & GENTLY work it with a hair dryer. Works like a charm. Had mine laying perfectly flat in a half an hour. After that hot water trick will work fine. Transport on 3"-4" roller. Never fold. On 2nd mat after 22 years. 1st one still great.
I bought the 34.5 x 48 Chessex vinyl battlemat from Paizo. It came rolled and squashed. When I lay it out on a table, the surface of the mat forms hills and valleys that cause miniatures to tip over and stop dice from rolling. These aren't creases; they're rolling folds.
I tried gently folding back along the folds. No good. I tried ironing the battlement under a towel. I produced a unique odor that my wife didn't love but failed to flatten the rolls even a smidge. I've now got the battlemat stretched flat on the floor with each corner held down by a six-inch stack of gaming books. No progress yet. Maybe by the year 2050.
Any advice on how to flatten this thing down? And what's the best way to roll it for transport to gaming sessions?
We just fluffed and drew a big blue river across the length of o battlemat last night. I'm here to buy another one, but in the meantime I will certainly try Keraptis' advice and if that doesn't work... what kind of abrasive cleaner do you recommend Lilith?
I would use Goof-off. Any hardware store should have it and most K-mart/Wal-mart type places also carry it.
One tiny drop on a paper towel (use rubber gloves) and wipe the marks off. Rinse the area afterwards. The smell is awful so do this outside.This will remove ANYTHING from ANYTHING!
For gamers who don't have one of these - they are absolutely awesome. In addition to using markers and tokens, the mat can also be laid down as general terrain area under 3 dimension buildings or bridges, trees, etc. War torn worlds makes some good rocks, and walls that work nicely in tandem with the mat.
Taking care of the mat is essential, but once you're in the habit of doing so, the particular size of this mat is nice beneath PAIZO flip-mats to add a little extra area, so players do not feel constrained during battles to make use of the whole area. Enjoy.
I've used mine for the past 5 years and it is as good as new. Just be sure to clean and store it when not in use.
-Pax
We just fluffed and drew a big blue river across the length of o battlemat last night. I'm here to buy another one, but in the meantime I will certainly try Keraptis' advice and if that doesn't work... what kind of abrasive cleaner do you recommend Lilith?
I would use Goof-off. Any hardware store should have it and most K-mart/Wal-mart type places also carry it.
One tiny drop on a paper towel (use rubber gloves) and wipe the marks off. Rinse the area afterwards. The smell is awful so do this outside.
This will remove ANYTHING from ANYTHING!
Have you actually tried that? I'd worry that it might also remove the preprinted grid....
Have you actually tried that? I'd worry that it might also remove the preprinted grid....We just fluffed and drew a big blue river across the length of o battlemat last night. I'm here to buy another one, but in the meantime I will certainly try Keraptis' advice and if that doesn't work... what kind of abrasive cleaner do you recommend Lilith?
I would use Goof-off. Any hardware store should have it and most K-mart/Wal-mart type places also carry it.
One tiny drop on a paper towel (use rubber gloves) and wipe the marks off. Rinse the area afterwards. The smell is awful so do this outside.
This will remove ANYTHING from ANYTHING!
I've done it several times and it hasn't done anything bad to the mats I've done it on yet. Like I said though just a little dab on a paper towel does the job. I actually spilled a good amount on one before also and was very nervous but the worst thing that happened was that the mat stunk bad for a couple days from the goof off.
Have you actually tried that? I'd worry that it might also remove the preprinted grid....We just fluffed and drew a big blue river across the length of o battlemat last night. I'm here to buy another one, but in the meantime I will certainly try Keraptis' advice and if that doesn't work... what kind of abrasive cleaner do you recommend Lilith?
I would use Goof-off. Any hardware store should have it and most K-mart/Wal-mart type places also carry it.
One tiny drop on a paper towel (use rubber gloves) and wipe the marks off. Rinse the area afterwards. The smell is awful so do this outside.
This will remove ANYTHING from ANYTHING!
I've done it several times and it hasn't done anything bad to the mats I've done it on yet. Like I said though just a little dab on a paper towel does the job. I actually spilled a good amount on one before also and was very nervous but the worst thing that happened was that the mat stunk bad for a couple days from the goof off.
Worst case, if you do remove some of the pre-printed grid, grab a fine tip sharpie and a ruler and connect the remaining lines. It may not match completely, but it does work ... had to do this on one of my old battlemaps.
Whatever you do, do not use dry erase markers on this! I picked up the wrong marker by accident and now mine has a huge ugly green boat drawn on the square side. My friends laugh at me each time I use it. Dry erase markers do not come off by any solvent I could get my hands on commerically. But I really loved it until I ruined it.Have you tried an abrasive cleaner? That might help a little bit.
This last weekend I accidentally drew on my mat with a dry erase marker instead of my water-soluble mat markers. I immediately tried a variety of remedies with limited success. With this experience fresh in my mind, here's what I tried and the results I achived:
1) Alcohol - no effect2) Draw on dry erase mark with water-soluble mat marker and erase - no effect
3) Clorox bleach pen - no effect
4) Bleach - no effect
5) Scrubbing with Scotch Brite abrasive pad - some success. Requires a lot of scrubbing and affects the mat's grid marks, but did diminish the marks I scubbed appreciably
6) Mr. Clean Magic Eraser - fair success. This diminished marks more than the Scotch Brite pad and with a LOT less effort. Like the abrasive pad, though, it does cause some fading of the mat grid.
After all of these efforts the marks are not gone, but they are significantly diminished and leave the mat in a usable state. I can mark over the areas previously stained with dry erase marker and there is confusion over which lines are in play.
I bought the 34.5 x 48 Chessex vinyl battlemat from Paizo. It came rolled and squashed.
I just received one from Paizo to replace one a friend never returned. It was bent to fit into a box that was much too small for it, and as a result I have the same problems with wrinkles and an uneven surface. I'm very unhappy and wish I had seen your post and realized Paizo sends them this way before I ordered from them.