Thread: Monster mud and tombstones

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Whats the best way to apply monster mudd to tombstones? what do you guys and gals use? I did it by hand on my cremation oven but that didnt need to be smooth...any ideas would be greatly appreciated. We are going to upgrade the 30 some odd year old tombstones my dad made when I was a kid..

I'd paint it on with a brush, but it would probably be easier to use drylock which is a sealer and it has a sandy texture too it as well. Otherwise you'd have to mud it and then seal it with an exterior latex paint which is fine too, but maybe an un needed step! Drylock can be tinted with black dye and it turns it a perfect shade of gray for tombstones! If you want a smooth surface I'd just use wood filler to fill in any imperfections and then use latex paint right over the foam! That would be close to a smooth surface!

well it doesnt hav to be perfectly smooth....i just dont want brush strokes in the mudd..

hell I want it to look like old stone and it will look like old stone when im done with it.

How about foam / sponge brushes ? http://www.save-on-crafts.com/foambrushes.html

I've had good luck using my hands to get monster mud relatively smooth! Good luck! Post pics when you're done!

I have always used a simple drywall knife to smooth it out ( at least 6 to 8 inches wide or even wider on big surfaces.) It takes a little practice to make perfect but you can always sand out any ridges that you leave behind to get an even smoother appearance. Also, I use Durabond 90 instead of plain drywall mud. I think you will find that it is much more resistant to moisture than normal mud. I am sorry to say that you still should seal it with a good coat of exterior paint or spar varnish. I feel that my finished product is comparable to what I have seen here and the process has the extra benefit of being able to work a rough surface right next to a smooth surface all in one step. Watch the dry time though. It works very well for about 15 or 20 minutes maybe a little longer. After that it starts to drag and after about 40 minutes it becomes to much to manage. It is usually dry in 1 to 2 hours. That keeps the project moving faster than normal mud. You can paint with an hour or two of cure time without any problems.