Help with getting Lauhala matting to unroll and lie flat

Does anyone have any suggestions on getting a roll of lauhala matting to unroll and lie flat. I have a 3' x 6' panel that I use as a single piece when I Tiki out, but I have the devil of a time getting it to remain flat, and that puts a stress on the non-permanent mounting method I use. Is there a simple way to get this stuff to give up its permanent wave?

Here's a pic of how I have it across the front of my bar:

If you are interested in the overall effect, here's a post about what things looked like last year during Tiki Month. I just want to get things perfect this time around.
http://www.killingtime.com/Pegu/2013/02/06/basement-bar-overhaul-dressing-for-tiki-month/

Thanks!

Try spraying it with water, then iron it out.
Next lay flat with weights on top.
When it dries cover the whole thing with Elmers glue, I just use my finger.
You may need to lay flat and smooth out any bumps as glue dries.
After the glue dries paint with amber Shellac.

I have never done a large piece like this but it should work.

On 2014-01-25 15:15, PeguDoug wrote:
Does anyone have any suggestions on getting a roll of lauhala matting to unroll and lie flat.

Thanks!

You mean like to roll it out, use it, then roll it up for storage until some future time?

A spray bottle with a bit of water will help. You only want to very slightly wet the stuff or it will swell and make your bubbles and gaps bigger. You could also try a steam iron. Not actually ironing the mat, just hitting it with the steam to help shape it. The downside to these two options is having to hold the mat in place/shape until it dries or cools.

When you take it down for storage here is something that will really help for the next time:

Lay newspaper or kraft wrap down on the floor. Christmas wrapping works too. Now lay the matting down with the 'good side' towards the floor, touching the paper. Now roll the mat so the back side goes to the inside of the roll, the good side should face out of the roll.

Next time you pull out the matting and unroll it, any curve in the matting will curve towards the wall/bar instead of out towards your guests. It will make the entire sheet lay more flat to the wall because the curve will favor the wall.

I put a roll on a section of my wall last year. I bought a very thin piece of wood and used glue to attach the matting. Then I turned it upside down and weighted it down to set the glue. When I attached the matting and wood backing to the wall, I used nails to secure it to the wall and the nail simultaneously fastened the matting tighter to the wood backing. I covered most of the nails with the bamboo border. If the matting wasn't flush, I would just add another nail there to flatten it out. My lauhala matting has tiki decor on it, so the nails are hidden. To cover the uneven parts of the matting, you can use bamboo split in half as a border or you can use a router design on a 1x4, burn it, stain it and clear coat it for a border. I have bamboo borders on the top and bottom with tiki style planks on the sides.

There are more threads here that show how to make faux bamboo, router polynesian designs into wood and how to burn and finish tiki style planks. Buzzy is an artiste with a router.

Good Luck
Trailerpark Tiki

I lay it flat in the Southern California sun as soon as I get it home. It can lay there for 3-5 days til I’m ready to use it.
Curl side up always-sometimes I place weights on it, sometimes not.
Good luck!

I lightly sprayed/misted mine with water, and then used a hot iron to flatten it. When it was dry, I spread an adhesive on the wall, pressed the matting onto the wall, and then used a plastic scrapper to push out any air bubbles.

[ Edited by: Kon-Hemsby 2014-01-26 14:26 ]

Thanks everybody.

All it took was a good spray down, and then I laid some shelving over the most curly parts and it was virtually flat by the next day. Without the water, I had it weighed down for four days with no results.

Now it looks great, and I can roll it up for next year, once the month is over.