Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I've seen it discussed on Dakka over the years of different tips in working with styrofoam, but unfortuneatly it seems most of that's been lost with the move to the new forum. I cry tears of PVA glue.

The various styrofoamy constructs I have take a lot of hits because they get moved around a lot (no permanent table, travel, etc) and I'm looking for a way to make the foam more durable so it doesn't collapse as easy. For example, there was a Dakkite who made an entire Space Marine suit for Dragoncon using styrofoam coated in *something* that made it hard as rock without melting the damn thing. Does anyone know anything similar that can be done to styrofoam to make it a sturdier? I've had spackle suggested, but I tried woodfiller and it disolved. How similar are the two?

Thanks beforehand, good Dakkites.

wood glue is the best reinforcement for styorfoam, both as an adherent and as a surface strengthener.

the hot wire foam factory sells foam covering product thats a cement by product.
look for "FOAM COAT" we sell it and have used it in our store to make gaming tables.

Expensive and time-consuming, but covering your styrofoam with a mix of talcum powder and superglue will make it rock hard. And I mean hard enough to require a screwdriver to crack...

Uh, but super glue eats right through the styrofoam, worse and faster than spray paint not formulated for foam. I've seen single drops of superglue eat away golf ball sized holes in foam... Does the talcum somehow stop that runaway chemical reaction?

Actually, CA type glues dissolve most foams, so you need to be pretty careful about that. Test it first.

I've had luck with brushed in latex housepaints, and I've heard that liquid latex works quite well on most foams also. Wood glues are also a good idea, but i'd thin it with some water probably. But no matter what it is, expect to do a few coats, as it IS foam and will absorb liquids down pretty deep if given the chance. I'll have to look into that "Foam Coat" stuff, as I am probably going to be doing a lot more work with various foams in the near future.

-Hans

possibly he meant talcum and white glue, as superglue dries a bit fast and would dry rock hard on your tools/hands

I've used resin. The 2 part resin compound sold by alumulite. Just mix it up and spread it on with a brush.
Be sure you mix fairly small quantites or it'll all cure befor you finish. And be sure to have a ready supply of cheap brushes as they'll be trash when you're done.

@ Empire1: Are you stateside? I'm in SE Asia and probably can't find an item if it's too specific.

Should have mentioned this earlier, but I need a sandable substance since a lot of detailing and finishin requires a smooth surface to work on. Is the talcum powder/glue mix sandable or otherwise smoothable? It wouldn't do to be stuck with the application swirls. And can someone confirm PVA/super?

Failing that, I guess wood glue would be the way to go. A lot of them advertise sandable.

Thaks for the responses, guys.

Cyanoacrylate glue (aka Superglue, CA glue, Zap-A-Gap, etc...) definitely eats through styrofoam via chemical reaction. Though if applied over some sealant (ie: gesso, several coats of acrylic paint, etc...) I suppose it might work and this might be what ZandrisIV was referring to. Sounds expensive though. Wood glue is pretty thick stuff but would work quite well. Can you mount any of this on cut MDF board? That would also go a long way at adding some resiliency, at least to the base of any terrain pieces.

Ack... I remember the exact process now. I covered the foam with filler, and then applied the superglue mix over the top. Still makes it incredibly expensive...

Sorry for the bad advice earlier.

Posted By Griffu on 02/12/2007 7:54 AM
@ Empire1: Are you stateside? I'm in SE Asia and probably can't find an item if it's too specific.

Aha! Another Asian gamer. Now there are at least two of us...

Navin

plaster thinned down works pretty good for the open cell foam then you can spray paint it with out it melting

Stupid question, but can you apply wood glue after you've painted the foam? I have a base coat on my new boards of acrylic house paint that I applied to the sides and the board surface. It would be nice to reinforce the sides though. I was going to try to use some thin wood veneer, but now a days, the only veneer I can find comes with an iron on adhesive backing, and I'm afraid to try it because I might melt the foam.

In my experience, gluing onto the paint surface is works but the joint is weaker. I used a thick coat of acrylic and the glue was sealed out, dunno if there's any glues out there that eat acrylic though.



Yea, I've been mounting too. But pieces can take a bump from different sides, especially since they have to be piled in the closet pretty often. I figured the extra distance would be worth it for pieces with a lot of time invested in them and no one can know enough about working with foam .

@ Zandris: can you give me a few more details, how did you keep the superglue from hardening before you applied it completely? Aaaand.. is it sandable?



Aha, a friend! But I'm torn between no longer being unique and the happiness of having a friend to invent gang signs with...

Textured paint is by far the best way to go. You can get a two gallon container at any big box hardware store for under 10 bucks and it will last forever.

I use it to cover the styrofoam on all of my terrain projects. It hardens up very nicely. It can take a while to dry depending on how thick you put it on though.

Just curious, but has any one tried using Future Floor wax (in several coats) as a sealant/protectant?  It has a tough acryllic base and it shouldn't damage the styrofoam in any way.

Keith

Future doesn't damage the foam at all, though I've found that it really isn't thick enough to fill the voids in the foam too well and it takes a LOT of coats before it starts doing anything to the surface qualities. Latex house paint, at least in my experience, is a better base coat onto the foam.

My terrain is made using the nasty beady sort of expanded polystyrene. It requires a protective layer to strengthen it and to give it a better appearance. I have used various methods over the years and am still looking for the prefect one.

Plaster. Actually bonding which is a sort of plasterer?s undercoat ? you put it on first and apply a smooth top coat on top. It is cheap but heavy and tends to set very quickly which can be good or bad. You can sculpt and mould it. The downside is that it tends to make your hills very heavy.

Coving Cement. You can get this in powdered form or premixed as a thick paste. You can use it as a glue when making the hills or afterwards as a shell coat. A little bit too sticky to shape easily.

Textured paint. Not sure. Easy to work with and you can tint it easily enough if you buy the big buckets of cheap white paint. The ones I have have a very course texture I do not really like but I have only used them for buildings. For terrain they might be perfect especially if you drybrush rather than flock. I think you can get finer textured varieties as well. A friend recommends a variety called Artex that might be a better filler than most. I must look again at using proper textured paint.

Filler. Polyfilla and cheaper equivalents. Not cheap but easy to work with. Tends to make your terrain quite heavy.

DIY Mix. A horrible concoction of emulsion paint (AKA latex paint), filler, fine playpit sand, PVA glue and probably other things I have forgotten about. Stir it up and paint it on with an old paintbrush or use a trowel. Cheap but quite effective, particually so for desert terrain if you have the right colour of paint in the mix.