How To Clean Dnd Mat

Prior Pragnotherse · Wednesday, 17 November 2021

Thread: The Cleaning of Battlemats

2011-06-25,07:03 PM (ISO 8601) - Top - End - #1

Ogre in the Playground

The Cleaning of Battlemats

I was using a Chessex Battlemat for a game earlier, drawing on it as you do. When the game was over, however, I spent about forty minutes trying to clean the damn thing off, and there's still marks; some faint, and some heavy and smudgy.
Anyone know a good way of cleaning battlemats that doesn't involve using chemicals that will melt off half the surface?
2011-06-25,07:35 PM (ISO 8601) - Top - End - #2

Barbarian in the Playground

Re: The Cleaning of Battlemats

Are you using an appropriate wet erase marker?
Dampen a paper towel and it literally wipes right off in a swipe. You must be doing something wrong: Either using a marker not suited for it or not wetting whatever you are using to clean it.

Last edited by Ozreth; 2011-06-25 at 07:35 PM.

Originally Posted by Alleran

* I am no longer permitted to Wild Shape my druid into a bear riding a bear while summoning bears.

Originally Posted by Trafalgar

Back when Dark Sun came out in '91, I was convinced that it was the Forgotten Realms, just 2000 or 3000 years in the future. I believed this because "Tyr" was both a god in Forgotten Realms and a City in Dark Sun. I thought that TSR was going to roll out some massive magical/psionic apocalypse that would kill Elminister, banish the FR Gods, and turn Faerun into a desert.
2011-06-25,07:38 PM (ISO 8601) - Top - End - #3

Pixie in the Playground

Re: The Cleaning of Battlemats

Rubbing alcohol works good for removing marker. (even permanent marker)
i don't have any Battlemats so i don't know what there made of. if it's made of paper don't use Rubbing alcohol(it will soak into the paper). if it's made out of plastic with printing on it, i would test a small corner to make sure the alcohol doesn't remove any of the printing. if it's paper that's laminated there it shouldn't be a problem.

Last edited by johnnynomad; 2011-06-25 at 07:39 PM.
2011-06-25,07:48 PM (ISO 8601) - Top - End - #4

Pixie in the Playground

Re: The Cleaning of Battlemats

Sometimes I'll leave marker on a map for weeks or grab the wrong type of marker, so if water doesn't clean the mat, I use mess master, something I use at work as a florist. a quick google search shows it for sale, but you might ask your local florist if you can borrow their's since it takes very little to clean a battlemat: http://www.createforless.com/Design+.../pid14364.aspx

remember YMMV

"What if this wasn't a hypothetical question?"
2011-06-25,07:49 PM (ISO 8601) - Top - End - #5

Ogre in the Playground

Re: The Cleaning of Battlemats

Originally Posted by Ozreth

Are you using an appropriate wet erase marker?

Dampen a paper towel and it literally wipes right off in a swipe. You must be doing something wrong: Either using a marker not suited for it or not wetting whatever you are using to clean it.

I thought I was using the right sort of marker. Evidently not though.
2011-06-25,09:37 PM (ISO 8601) - Top - End - #6

Barbarian in the Playground

Re: The Cleaning of Battlemats

Originally Posted by Aidan305

I thought I was using the right sort of marker. Evidently not though.

Yeah, I dunno : /
I've always used the ones they sell at game stores and they wipe right off. I'd switch : )

Originally Posted by Alleran

* I am no longer permitted to Wild Shape my druid into a bear riding a bear while summoning bears.

Originally Posted by Trafalgar

Back when Dark Sun came out in '91, I was convinced that it was the Forgotten Realms, just 2000 or 3000 years in the future. I believed this because "Tyr" was both a god in Forgotten Realms and a City in Dark Sun. I thought that TSR was going to roll out some massive magical/psionic apocalypse that would kill Elminister, banish the FR Gods, and turn Faerun into a desert.
2011-06-25,09:50 PM (ISO 8601) - Top - End - #7

Ettin in the Playground

Re: The Cleaning of Battlemats

In my experiance the blue and black pens leave smudges if you let them dry on before wiping them off, while they green and red pens always leave smudges.
2011-06-27,03:27 PM (ISO 8601) - Top - End - #8

Dwarf in the Playground

Re: The Cleaning of Battlemats

Use Crayola washable markers. There's a plethora of colors to choose from, and they come off with a wet paper towel.
2011-06-27,04:14 PM (ISO 8601) - Top - End - #9

Pixie in the Playground

Re: The Cleaning of Battlemats

It sounds strange, but if you have some vodka laying around you can use that to clean it up. Works like a charm. I only had expensive volcanic rock filtered vodka, but I'm sure the cheap stuff would work just as well.
2011-06-28,12:16 PM (ISO 8601) - Top - End - #10

Titan in the Playground

Re: The Cleaning of Battlemats

Rubbing alcohol works, but you have to be VERY careful as this will remove your grid lines as well.
I've heard REALLY good things about a Mr Clean Magic Eraser for this application, but have not been able to test one out myself.

Originally Posted by Fax Celestis

AILHAY THULUCAY! AILHAY THULUCAY! AILHAY THULUCAY!

_________________________________
A beholder�s favorite foods include small live mammals, exotic mushrooms and other fungi, gnomes, beef, pork, colorful leafy vegetables, leaves, flower petals, insects, and birds.
2011-06-28,07:04 PM (ISO 8601) - Top - End - #11

Bugbear in the Playground
2011-06-28,07:53 PM (ISO 8601) - Top - End - #12

Dwarf in the Playground

Re: The Cleaning of Battlemats

Originally Posted by Kalirren

I think that isopropanol is best, actually; that's what the commercial dry erase cleaners are. Of course, I don't know where to get isopropanol in general, my father gets it from his laboratory

Well, outside of labs, they call isopropanol "isopropyl alcohol", AKA the same common rubbing alcohol mentioned several times above.
Ethanol (ethyl alcohol, AKA hooch / everclear / vodka) does pretty much the exact same things, solvent wise. But I bet your dad would get in trouble for bringing that home. I always wanted to swipe one of the 3 gallon drums of 95% ethanol I'd see lying around at the U. For cleaning purposes, of course... :)

Last edited by Seb Wiers; 2011-06-28 at 07:55 PM.
2011-06-28,07:57 PM (ISO 8601) - Top - End - #13

Ogre in the Playground

Re: The Cleaning of Battlemats

I happen to own that battlemat, and I've never had this problem. The kind of markers you want to use are the kinds that teachers use on overhead projector slides. Otherwise, because it's slightly porous, the marks will just sink right in. Wet erase markers do the trick.

Avatar by zimmerwald1915

Originally Posted by Divide by Zero

Hulking Hurler can get something like (10^83)d6 damage, which is many orders of magnitude greater than the number of particles in the universe.

Characters:

Spoiler

Show

Current characters: None, looking for a game.

Homebrew!

Wow, it's been a while. Sorry for the unexplained absence!
2011-06-28,09:42 PM (ISO 8601) - Top - End - #14

Ogre in the Playground
2011-06-28,11:10 PM (ISO 8601) - Top - End - #15

Ogre in the Playground

Re: The Cleaning of Battlemats

Beyond getting the right kind of markers if you don't have them already, the best things I can suggest are:
1. Try not to leave drawings on the mat for too long, because even the erasable markers will sometimes leave marks if you let it sit too long.

2. Find out which colors erase better than others on your mat. I draw a lot of things in green because that seems to come out better than blue, red, or especially brown. The brown marker always seems to leave a bright pink mark when I erase that.
2011-06-30,12:22 AM (ISO 8601) - Top - End - #16

Dwarf in the Playground

Re: The Cleaning of Battlemats

I have a related yet opposite question: What's the best way to permanently mark on dry-erase boards?
Basically, I'm trying to decide between a pre-printed battlemat and magnetic dry-erase board. It seems like being magnetic would trump the portability (I have a bunch of printable magnet paper laying around that I can use for tokens), but if I can't mark grid lines in such a way that the normal methods of removing drawings won't also remove the grid lines, the whole decision is moot.
2011-06-30,12:34 AM (ISO 8601) - Top - End - #17

Ogre in the Playground

Re: The Cleaning of Battlemats

Originally Posted by Nepenthe

I have a related yet opposite question: What's the best way to permanently mark on dry-erase boards?

Basically, I'm trying to decide between a pre-printed battlemat and magnetic dry-erase board. It seems like being magnetic would trump the portability (I have a bunch of printable magnet paper laying around that I can use for tokens), but if I can't mark grid lines in such a way that the normal methods of removing drawings won't also remove the grid lines, the whole decision is moot.

You could try using permanent marker, but I think that would likely smudge on a dry erase board.
You could also try cutting electrical tape into thin strips and marking off a grid with that.
2011-06-30,12:44 AM (ISO 8601) - Top - End - #18

Ettin in the Playground

Re: The Cleaning of Battlemats

I have always heard the best way is to draw a grid with permanent marker and a ruler, then take a knife and a straightedge and cut along the permanent marker lines. Eventually the gouges from the knife will fill with ink and become dark enough to readily see.
2011-06-30,01:15 AM (ISO 8601) - Top - End - #19

Dwarf in the Playground

Re: The Cleaning of Battlemats

Try diluting the rubbing alcohol instead of using it straight (1 part rubbing alcohol to 10 parts water in a spray bottle). It'll help a lot and is less likely to damage your mat. However, I've found window cleaner like Windex works very well as does just a mixture of distilled white vinegar and water (10:1 ratio again). It's the same sort of vinyl they use in things like sofas and clothing, so anything that's safe to use on that will be fine on the battlemat (but may or may not damage the pre-printed lines). No matter what you use, test it on a small corner with printing (like the Chessex logo outside the grid) first to make sure it won't remove the lines or damage the surface.
And remember that DRY erase markers are EVIL when it comes to battlemats. They're just as bad as using permanent markers.
2011-06-30,02:08 AM (ISO 8601) - Top - End - #20

Dwarf in the Playground

Re: The Cleaning of Battlemats

Originally Posted by Velaryon

You could also try cutting electrical tape into thin strips and marking off a grid with that.

Sounds like a good idea. The tape might be hard to draw over, but at least if it becomes problematic I can just rip it all off and try something different.

Originally Posted by Talakeal

I have always heard the best way is to draw a grid with permanent marker and a ruler, then take a knife and a straightedge and cut along the permanent marker lines.

This occurred to me, but I'm worried that breaking the surface of the board might cause it to peel or deteriorate further. Has anyone actually tried this?
hmm... maybe I should just put something metal under a battlemat so I can still use my magnets...

Thanks for the tips, everyone.
2011-06-30,03:45 AM (ISO 8601) - Top - End - #21

Dwarf in the Playground

Re: The Cleaning of Battlemats

Originally Posted by Nepenthe

hmm... maybe I should just put something metal under a battlemat so I can still use my magnets...

Thanks for the tips, everyone.

One of the more awesome DIY boards I've seen was someone who took a thin sheet of steel and bolted it onto some plywood, then put hinges and attached a frame that had plastic (or maybe lexan) that had gridlines painted on the underside (etched the gridlines in, painted, then peeled off what didn't get into the cracks). So it basically ended up a battlegrid you could lift the top on, lay down a paper/print-out/poster, close the lid, draw on the top, use magnetic bases on, and wash clean without worrying about spills, smudges, losing the gridlines, etc. Almost no portability, but it certainly was awesome.
2011-07-01,09:31 PM (ISO 8601) - Top - End - #22

Dwarf in the Playground

Re: The Cleaning of Battlemats

Originally Posted by Nepenthe

I have a related yet opposite question: What's the best way to permanently mark on dry-erase boards?

Basically, I'm trying to decide between a pre-printed battlemat and magnetic dry-erase board. It seems like being magnetic would trump the portability (I have a bunch of printable magnet paper laying around that I can use for tokens), but if I can't mark grid lines in such a way that the normal methods of removing drawings won't also remove the grid lines, the whole decision is moot.

Litko make's stencils for gridlines:
http://www.litko.net/products/1-inch...attern%29.html
http://www.litko.net/products/1-inch...attern%29.html
http://www.litko.net/products/1-inch...attern%29.html
Spraypaint should be fairly permanent...

Last edited by Seb Wiers; 2011-07-01 at 09:31 PM.
2011-07-01,10:04 PM (ISO 8601) - Top - End - #23

Dwarf in the Playground

Re: The Cleaning of Battlemats

Originally Posted by TheAbstruseOne

One of the more awesome DIY boards I've seen was someone who took a thin sheet of steel and bolted it onto some plywood, then put hinges and attached a frame that had plastic (or maybe lexan) that had gridlines painted on the underside (etched the gridlines in, painted, then peeled off what didn't get into the cracks). So it basically ended up a battlegrid you could lift the top on, lay down a paper/print-out/poster, close the lid, draw on the top, use magnetic bases on, and wash clean without worrying about spills, smudges, losing the gridlines, etc. Almost no portability, but it certainly was awesome.

That sounds awesome, and now I wanna make one. Actually, if you did it without the plywood, you could probably add some portability to it.

I think I just had an evilgasm!