We’ve been talking a lot lately about home & office improvements, putting in a little to get a lot, and the GoWrite! Dry Erase Rolls really fit the bill on that. GoWrite! (A division of Pacon Creative Products) has created rolls of self-stick dry erase surface that can literally be put anywhere.
So we got to test this stuff out, and learned just a few things in the process.
We started with surface tests, placing test strips on metal, wood, paneling, drywall, painted and unpainted surfaces, clean and dirty. What we learned is that while it is ideal to put it on clean, non-porous surfaces, it really can be placed anywhere, with a little conditioning. If you are hoping to place it on a painted wood or drywall surface, we really recommend sanding the surface a bit beforehand, just enough to rough it up. This helps to keep the adhesive from binding to the loose paint and having cracks.
We also looked at ease of application. With this stuff, you have an instant writable surface. No waiting for drying time. It is also something that can be managed by one person. (although, when applying large areas it is MUCH easier having a second set of hands) I found that it was easiest to remove bubbles with a rubber screen printing spatula working from the middle out towards the edges. Don’t have a screen printing spatula? A rubber ruler works nicely too.
We really like the erasability. We can easily create a flat white wall, write all over it with all sorts of dry erase markers, and instantly change it back to a very nice looking flat white wall. We used Expo, AusPen, and really cheap dry erase markers that had stained another board and got great results.
Durability: Another incredibly important part of the testing. This product isn’t made to get beat up. Thankfully, with a low price point, it isn’t terribly heart breaking if you get a couple scratches and have to replace a piece in your installation. It is rip-able, which can be a pain during instillation, but can also help you create some cool edge effects.
After testing, we sat down for a little brainstorming session for what types of applications this would work well for, and came up with quite a list:
- Resurface a desk
- Wall mural
- Small patches beside a telephone for a message board
- Laminate the outside of a binder for a re-writable note pad
- Run a strip down the side of your DVD cabinet for jotting down who borrowed that movie
- Place a pad on the inside door of your medicine cabinet so you can jot down what is running low
- Cover the broad side of your filing cabinet for a large note center
- Use it to re-cover an old whiteboard or chalk board for a fresh, clean surface.
- Or, you could just do what we would like to do: Cover your entire office, making every surface a whiteboard.
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