Here's a trick I learned from an upholsterer I used to work with to keep stuff your painting off the table.
They sell these things now...
http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=57821&cat=1,43456,43390
but really... would you be able to find them when you needed them? But we always have tack strip always handy...
(https://forum.upholster.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1020.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Faf328%2Fpeppypower%2Fnot%2520boats%2Fth_PC200013.jpg&hash=08c2b006dc2b065b9ab788ae0c7d0933) (http://s1020.photobucket.com/albums/af328/peppypower/not%20boats/?action=view¤t=PC200013.jpg)
I had the brain wave today of cutting half way through the last link and bending it 180 degrees to anchor the tack strip to the table or what ever. Then the strip doesn't move around on you. I used to staple it down but that can be a pain if you don't staple it enough it can move. And then you've gotta pick the peas after.
Maybe everybody does this? I felt real smart anyway...
We used to do something similar when I worked in the sign shop. We had a whack of 2X4's with blocks on the ends so we could paint and stack a number of sheets of substrate on one set of saw horses. They were about 58" long with 50" between the two blocks . You'd paint one blank, set the next 2X4 on the blocks of the first one,throw the next board on and paint it ........