Mousepad boards & Scotchgard

I have recently bought a premier tournament chess set combo at Wholesale chess. It comes with a 22’ mousepad board.  I have used almost any kind of chess board out there except for a mousepad board.  I particulary wanted this board and especially the size and the thickness of the board appeal to me. However, as I learned from the reviews, colors may fade somewhat rapidly, it is difficult to remove stains, and it does not go well with liquids.

Well, to remedy this problem, I am planning to apply SCOTCHGARD on my mousepad board as it is recommended by some users. Yet I have found only two people who actually applied Scotchgard on a mousepad board and their experience is completely contradictory:

REVIEW 1:”So I purchased two of these boards to test them next to our chess club vinyl boards. Just as a test, I sprayed one with Scotchguard waterproofing. After several months of play, the Scotchguarded mousepad board is still clean and bright just like it was when it was new. The other one was getting noticeably dirtier. After washing them both, the Scotchguarded one still looks brand new […]”

Review 2:  “[…]the board is like a mouse pad with a cloth top and I have seen old mouse pads get pretty dirty with use and they never come clean easliy. I thought I would try spaying it with Scotch Guard but that made the ink bleed, so don't try it […]”

Both reviews are exactly for the same product. So now I am confused!  Is it okay to apply Scotchgard on Mousepad boards (particularly the ones from Wholesale chess)?  I am waiting for my package to arrive and I am only going to buy scotchgard if it is applicable on this particular mousepad boards.  Some firsthand experience on this matter is really appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Ps: My board is white&navy blue in colors

I just saw that you hadn't received a reply yet to this. When I was shopping for my tournament set from them ( I love their stuff and their customer service is absolutely top shelf!) I noticed that they had some seconds in vinyl and mousepad variety boards. If they still do, and I don't know, one could purchase a second and treat it, then see how it fares. I just thought I'd throw that out there since nobody had responded.

I had thought of buying a second mousepad board, but it slipped out of my mind while I was dealing with the customer service. Everybody says the same about their customer service and the bottom line is that I am too satisfied with them. Yet they caused me really a lot of problems. First they refunded my order which I had paid with a credit card and then insististed on a western union payment (fees!). They said that this is their standard treatment with international orders.

I have been using my old vinyl board and Garde&Jerger analog clocks for about two decades. So for a change I made a relatively big purchase, a Dgt XL clock (chronos are somewhat difficult to find) and a few other things, that the shipping would not bother me that much next to the total sum.

Anyway, the problem is  that shipping is really expensive. and I am not really sure I want to pay another $80 (shipping), let aside western union fees, for a $10 board.

On the other hand I want to use this board for a while. I am likely to use it in pubs so I don't want my board to get spoiled because of a few drops of beer...

Result, I still do not know what to do but thanks anyway, it is good to get a reply :)

Go to art store or find a good artist as they are clever at these things.

If your going to take it to a bar..... you must use some clear plastic only way to ensure no problems or use a cheaper board when you play there.

The only thing i can think of that is clear are those clear book covers that are realy clear and stay in place and hard for anybody to really notice unless you tell them. Only problem is cutting it out as it comes in a large quantity and smoothing it out. It is possible to find at a dollar store if you want to save money.

Oh i see you live in Turkey.  Make a chess board using some sandpaper and wood stain. Add designs to it as you wish. This way solves the damages to it issue. If it gets a  knick sand it and add stain. Then polish it.

I didn't notice that you were out of country. Sorry about that. If you are in the U.S., ordering more than $50 will get you free shipping. I can always rustle up an order to get the free shipping, but I don't know if that applies to international orders. I kind of doubt it. The part about it not doing well with liquids was something I worried about when I was purchasing my set. I almost did a build your own kit, because I really wanted the mousepad board. I researched other mousepad boards offered by other companies, and their reviews said things like " if it gets dirty, throw it in the wash." Some folks said they would just take some soapy water and wash them and air dry them. So, that's totally opposite what Wholesale Chess says. The only thing I can figure on that is the manufacturers of the mousepad boards must be different from one retailer to another. I would still follow the recommendations given by WSC. Sorry I can't be more helpful. Maybe someone who has stainguarded one will see this thread...

Yeah .....what is a mousepad board?

I have been playing chess for a while and yet to here about this. What is so great about it?

Thanks Royalship. I think talking to a good artist may help. Perphaps the problem with the second review was that they sprayed the scotchgard too close to the board that it made the ink bleed. 

no Tfulk it doesn't apply to international orders. 

A good artist deals with many materials and knows how to preserve the beauty of something. The problem may be that it was not good ink. ??

I agree with you they may appreciate the material better. I am still waiting for my package to come, so I haven't seen the quality of the ink myself. Yet according to some reviews, dark squares fade away after some months.

Despite the second review, I am still planning to apply scothgard and hope for the best. 

Ok now that i saw a mousepad board ....

i have seen it before but we just called it a chess board we did not care about the specifics when i was in high school.

Yeah go to an Art Supply store. I can think of a couple ways to cover it up to preserve it. They have some paper that varies in transparency (used by painters and those that draw) adjust to your taste. Texture of the paper is not that rough but i do not know what type of pieces you have to put on it  I see this is good for blitz play and it  may take away the ability to slide a piece the way you want in a game. 

Now that i am thinking about it when i was in high school we had a similiar issue with out paper tournament boards (with same design). We placed some clear .....crap.... maybe it was a mixture of plastic and paper. Hey we did not care as long as we played the game. We even take the checkers board out of the box and set up some dollar chess pieces from a kids store in play a game. Surprised how cheap it is online.

My mind is wandering about a solution. I am thinking .....  If you can not preserve it then how about ways to restore it that will last longer than original design. I know they have markers that are permanent. Just another idea to consider as know i really understand what you are talking about and have been there.

I liked the no-warping idea of the mousepad board so I ordered one from the USCF store.

When it came I was so much put off by the colors -- silver-gray and an extremely dark green -- that I sent it back with the rest of the order.

Since then I've seen other oddly colored chess boards. I'm surprised at how much merchandisers are messing with the usual forest green/buff colors of the standard tournament board.

The next generation of chess players get easily bored so they try something different to increase sales. Plus they use the power of not wanting to be left out. So they get more sales ....... called keeping up with the Jones.