For those of you new to the world of Monster Mud props get
ready for a new ADDICTION!
First off lets get the story behind Monster Mud...
It all started when we met the strange souls at The
Haunted Chamber. There it was lurking in the dark, the
first joint compound/paint and burlap prop we ever saw. It
was then that the "creative beast" was unleashed
that now terrorizes The Terror Syndicate.
When we first named the joint compound/paint mixture in '98
everybody was in awe of the whole concept. But "Monster
Mud" has been used for many years by pro haunts and also
widely used in the remodeling industry. It provides a great
medium for sculpting cloth over prop forms and adds interesting
texture to walls, ceilings, columns, posts and more. Nothing
can be easier and give such great results for a low cost locally
found material that you can mix yourself.
Recipe
5 gallon bucket of Drywall Joint Compound
1 Gallon Can of Latex Paint (Exterior House Black or any color
you choose)
Mix together the compound and paint at a ratio of 5:1 or
what ever you feel is good! There is no right or wrong but
5:1 works best for us. We use a drywall compound mixing attachment
and a drill to whip the two ingredients together. Hand mixing
can be done if you have the strength and about 30 minutes...
The mixture is applied with your hands. We normally coat our
hands with petroleum jelly prior to starting since the MM
will dry and stain. The MM can be used on anything from simple
burlap to clothing or anything you can conjure up. Most of
our prop are burlap covered. Apply the MM by taking the sections
of burlap and plunging them into the bucket, squeezing it
into the cloth and removing excess through your thumb and
index fingers. Extra MM is applied to the prop as we go to
keep it all stuck together.
It takes several days for the MM to dry depending on how heavy
it is applied. The paint added to the compound is simply a
color base coat. It can be left as is or detailed with other
colors after the prop has dried. If you plan on using your
finished prop outdoors it will need to be coated with polyurethane.
We like to use a water based poly that dries fast and has
very low odor as compared to the oil based poly.
You can see many of the Monster Mud Creations we have created
in the Props section.
We also give detailed instruction on most of our Monster Mud
props in our handbooks!
