Help for pressed board coffin!!

[RCIAG]

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I just inherited a wood toe-pincher coffin from co-worker.

It's pretty basic & needs a few repairs though it's serviceable as it is but it could be so much better. I want to put on new hinges, new covering inside, some sort of ornamentation on the front, but it's biggest problem is it's made of pressed wood & they just painted black over the pressed wood.

So this is the texture, only painted flat black:


What are my options to cover up the texture without replacing the whole front or taking it off all together?

I don't mind the texture on the sides or back, but having that texture on the front just doesn't say "coffin" to me, it says "pressed board painted black trying to look like a coffin."

It was free so I don't mind spending some money but I'm not ready to spend a ton of $$$ on this thing because with a few touch ups on the paint & the dark hiding a multitude of sins, it's serviceable.

[beavervw]

Couple layers of monster mud would help, but it would have to be pretty thick to conceal all the flaws.. I too made the mistake of making a wood coffin using mdf wood to save a few bucks and was not happy, but I think it looked a lot better once I put monster mud on it! Sadly I don't have any pictures!

Monster mud (joint compound with some black paint) will stick to the wood really well! I'd just use that but if you're worried about it you could get some chicken wire or mesh material and use that and the monster mud together and it should stick very well! You just need to seal the monster mud after you're done. I think that would be the best way/cheapest way to hide the pressed wood!

Joint compound to smooth out the coffin and drylock (cement block paint) would also give it a gritty sandy texture and seal it too!

Good Luck!

[Haunty]

Could add some sand to the paint bucket & mix it, for a gritty unearthed texture.
Then use a high texture roller & add a fresh coat of paint to it. We came across a gallon of paint that had been mistakenly been left out & froze over the winter. When it thawed out it was chunky. We tried to mix it up but the chunks stayed. So, we just used a brush to paint the chunks on for a dirt look.

[Yubney]

How about simply cutting a piece of 1/8 plywood to fit to cover the wafer board? Then a simple coat of black over that? By making it beveled and slightly smaller you can get a more ornate molded look.

Just liquid nail the new piece over the old.

[Miss Phantom]

I agree with Yubney. Just cover it. You might be able to pull the same look off with foam board like people have done for columns. Spooky Blue has a cool foam coffin

http://www.spookyblue.com/halloween/coffin/

[RCIAG]

Thanks for the suggestions. We're off to Home Depot today to look at hinges for it & some other non-Halloweeny stuff.

I haven't tried monster mud yet but I want to so I may try that. That pressed board is super heavy & we're trying not to make it any heavier so thanks for the options.

When I finish it I'll post a pic.

[propboy]

how close are people going to be to this. Not even sure they'd notice or care it is press board.
I made one from that as the wood was free free is awesome. It was displayed in a my yard and looked fine. You can always add decorative wood or placques to dress it up.

-Slyder

[walkingcorpse]

Or..... you could take the opposite route and make it become a coffin thats already been dug-up and throw real mud on it. Otherwise I'm with Yubney, add the plywood and adjust the hinge if necessary.

[Front Yard Fright]

I wouldn't suggest Monster Mud as you can never really seal it all the way so it will end up coming up and peeling all the paint. (Though that may be a look you're going for!)

I'm with the others about the plywood. If weight is still a problem - Just replace the top piece with plywood and ditch the old one. You could even use the old one as a stencil to make sure you have a perfect fit.

Definitely let us know what you do - and post pics too!
.

[aintnohusker]

you could use contact paper. They make it with a pine face , oak face as well as solid colors