Felt Protective base - most suitable?

[Daveum79]

I'm in the process of making gypsum sculptures but they are a little heavy. I want them free standing so as can be placed on a sideboard. The most practical protection for the underside of base I can think of is a thin felt but not sure what type is most suitable. Everything I've come across on Amazon is a craft felt adhesive with sticky backing but out of all sellers not sure which is most suitable. Some I've come across state 2mm thickness which is more than i want. I'm thinking 1mm or less as don't want the base looking like its raised.

Also I've had issues previously sticking anything adhesive to gypsum (crystacal R). For some reason when applying things like double sided strong tape the stickiness completely disappears when stuck to gypsum so not sure if this would also apply to the adhesive on felt. If so what glue would be most recommended to apply the felt? Would gorilla glue do the job?

 

[chippy]

If you are in the UK I would recommend Hobbycraft for felts , they have stores all over the uk and do a good range of felts both plain and self adhesive . I think it would be worthwhile giving the bases you are making a coat of PVA on the base to seal it so the glue from the felt is not absorbed by the plaster .
chippy

 

[John Bowery]

I agree with Chippy on sealing the base.
Cheers
John

 

[valiant]

The problem with Crystacal R and other casting plasters is that they have to be completely dry before you can stick anything to them and the fact that they are porous when dry. They can be part sealed with thinned PVA, but even that does not completely do the job. Contact adhesives, like Evo Stik do not work and CA adhesives need the contact surfaces slightly dampening, otherwise they dont work efficiently, either! If the plaster is not sealed, at all, they become susceptible to mould growth and effervescence, by absorbing the moisture from the air. The best glue we found to attach plaster to plaster was Bostik All Purpose Clear, but the joint must be bone dry!