After creating some new sillhouettes for lunar landing lightplay, I was on the lookout for a coating that would make the cardboard cutouts rigid and durable for use on the floor. I wanted to support the all of the clipping, propping, bending, and building – but also grew up in a desert and felt a special responsibility to protect the cactus cutouts from immediate destruction.
I consulted a couple of Exploratorium team members in the Tinkering Studio and the shop, who suggested I try out an acrylic polyurethane coating. I used Benjamin Moore Stays Clear (low lustre) and did a quick double dipping test to compare regular cardboard (1/8" cardboard with one white side) to varying layers of coated cardboard:
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Visually, it's hard to tell the difference between the number of times the cardboard popsicle tests were dipped in Stays Clear. But you can feel a definite increase in rigidity of the double dipped cardboard. Future cactus cutouts will stand the test of time!
