Originally I wanted to do something really girlie like purple with pink contact areas, but thought that might be tempting fate with the macho kelpies - especially Atilla who usually only gets one paw in on most occasions - so I went with generic blue and yellow instead.
I couldn't decide which shade of blue I preferred so in the end I gave in to my indecision and went for both. I am really happy with the result as I think they look good mixed together ...... kind of like highlights in hair rather than the one flat colour.
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| The weesaw - just waiting in the shed to have the sides painted in their new matching colours and then we're good to go ! |
We ended up doing what all the clubs here have done and just trowelled the stuff straight onto the contacts. I would still like to experiment with making a skin at some stage as I believe this would give a better result, especially on the edges. However having to add acetone to work the rubber into a skin and being stuck in a fairly average ventilated area to do the job just didn't do it for me, so for home use we went with the 'easier' option, even if it doesn't give the best result.
Having said that though, I think the results are still pretty good. Although it took quite a few sessions to get the job done (and the dogwalk is still not complete) I think just having two of us working on it actaully gave a better result than doing it at club with 5 or 6 people. With one person doing the trowelling and smoothing, the end result was more consistent in regard to the amount of pressure applied, if that makes sense - we seemed to get a lot more ridges and uneven surfacing at club.
I also found that adding a little less binder than the amount recommended to me gave a better result. The less sticky the rubber, the easier it is to work with, so providing you have it all just coated, it still dries just fine. I ended up going with 'feel' rather than measuring the binder after the first few 'mixes' and am happy with the results. The A Frame was completed with different amounts of binder in the mix and you can't see or feel the difference at the end.
So, my Top Ten 'tips' :
1. Use good quality clamps (metal screw ons) to hold the wooden edging on while you are working rather than those cheap plastic trigger type things. Keep pressure on the wood and slide it down and off when you have finished.
2. Choose a working spot where you can leave heavy equipment like the A Frame in place to dry instead of having to pick it up afterwards.
3. Don't spend money on nitrile gloves from particular big hardware chains. Woolworths carries them at a fraction of the cost.
4. Don't stress about any bits that are less than perfect - you can go back and do a 'touch up' once the rubber is all applied. However it is eeasier to do this while the rubber is still wet. We made the mistake of trying to touch up a couple of bits on the seesaw a few days later and it did not go well.
5. Trowels and wooden edging clean up really easily with a rag dipped in a little bit of diesel.
6. Mixing 2 shades of the one colour on the bigger areas is a 'winner' in my opinion !
7. A flat metal bar gives a better result for smoothing than a trowel any day.
8. Don't worry about cleaning out mixing tubs at the end. If you leave them to dry the binder and rubber granules will just peel out like a skin.
9. The fewer people who do the 'flattening' the better, as you get a more consistent pressure and better results. We had quite a number doing it at club, and the surface is more uneven compared to what we ended up with at home.
10. Just do it - your dogs will thank you for it, believe me!
