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.

Hi Fellows. I'm going to start experimenting with creating some structures out of half inch pink foam core insulation and am wondering what is the best way to go about gluing it together. Any dos and don'ts you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

For me I just went out and bought a cheap LOW TEMP glue gun the mini version at Walmart which was about $3 Canadian in the crafts section and some lowtemp glue.

It works the best for what I do which is essentially just some hills and a few structures. You can use PVA glue around the cracks and stuff to fill it in if you want or use the gluegun depending on how "clean" you want the line and stuff.

Cool, I suspected glue gun was the way to go. Thanks for the conformation. I've got a hot-wire foam cutter so I'm hoping that my edges will come out good.

I've always used carpeters/wood glue for my Styrofoam insulation gluing. So far it's worked like a charm.

Yes, it can be pulled apart later (sometimes handy) but it seems to hold up quite well as long as you let it dry fully (and allow the necessary spaces for it to dry .. don't slather it on the entire piece or no air will get in to cure it) before doing anything else.

Making sure it has room for air to get to the glue is the most important thing when gluing Styrofoam like this together tbh. I like to score my foam first to provide channels for the air to get through. Then when the glue is fully cured I cover the edges with a bead of glue or some joint compound/wall filler.

Dunno about Canada but liquid nails work well.

You can allways use some paint... then use super glue + white glue spots to assemble it.. atleast one of the ways i learnt it and it works well.

 phatonic wrote:
You can allways use some paint... then use super glue + white glue spots to assemble it.. atleast one of the ways i learnt it and it works well.

I've seen smoke wafting from some foam a few times, and it stank royally, caused mild itching of the eyes and burning sensation nostrils (lets think, opening up the superglue and dumping it everywhere... that's kind of what it was like). Anything that makes smoke makes me nervous, so, I recommend something else.

I've used PVA glue and it's been just fine. If it's not sticking for you because of whatever reason, try tooth picks or wire or something to pin it together as well as using glue.

 Desubot wrote:
Dunno about Canada but liquid nails work well.

Liquid nails or any other construction adhesive is perfect for this, just more costly than glue.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 phatonic wrote:
You can allways use some paint... then use super glue + white glue spots to assemble it.. atleast one of the ways i learnt it and it works well.

Superglue on Styrofoam insulation?? Chemical reactions would suggest not to do this I think.

Rorschach9 wrote:

Automatically Appended Next Post:

 phatonic wrote:
You can allways use some paint... then use super glue + white glue spots to assemble it.. atleast one of the ways i learnt it and it works well.

Superglue on Styrofoam insulation?? Chemical reactions would suggest not to do this I think.

they do, but he did specify "use some paint" which can be taken to mean "apply paint to the entire surface", which ought to be enough. Key word: Ought to be enough. In my experience it's not. With enough venting it'l be fine, but even then, the eating and chewing into the foam makes it hard to repair.

I use white glue, and tend to pin things with toothpicks.

I wouldn't suggest gluing anything more than about 2 inches wide, if you want it to dry within a day. This works well with hills, as you can reuse the hollows you create, as higher levels of the hill!

Urethane Glue (Gorilla for example), Great Stuff Foam Insulation (also a urethane) or Glidden Gripper Primer.

I used to use Gorilla Glue most. I liked it since it doesnt impact hotwire cutters. Same goes for the insulation.

Recently though, when I ran out of those, I was looking for something different. Glidden Gripper is a styrofoam acrylic polymer. It sticks to foam great, and I have even used it to laminate full sheets together. Unlike a lot of glues, the interior areas dried just fine. It does have a bit of an odor though, but the solvent is alcohol based so it doesnt damage the foam.

Once cured, it cuts just fine with hot wire cutters, and unlike things like Liquid Nails, you dont have any gummy adhesives to mess up sand paper, rasps or other tools. For small stuff it is fully cured in a day or two. When I glued up the full sheets though it took about a week.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
One other big advantage of the Glidden. It is cheap. That really wasnt what I was looking for, but you can get a gallon for $20. Based on my current useage, that should be enough to glue 15 to 20 whole sheets together. I could probably stretch it even further if I would stop using paint rollers to apply it.

I always use Elmer's white glue. There is often a coupon for 50% off at Michael's or AC Moore here in PA in the Sunday news. Use the coupon to buy a gallon of the stuff.

Make sure your surfaces to be glued are clean, any little crumb of foam can cause mis-alignment.

Tip #1 - Use toothpicks like they were nails to hold layers together while cutting them out. If you angle your toothpicks opposite one another, it will help to lock layers together while the glue dries. Leave the toothpicks in the structure for added strength.

Tip #2 - Always base your hills with MDF or thick cardboard like Illustration board or Mattboard. You don't need much of an edge showing at the base; it will keep your foam hill's edges from getting all dinged up. I always spray a coat of primer on my board / card and let it dry before glueing foam to it. This helps reduce any warping which may be caused by painting or glue.

Tip #3 - Fill an empty gallon jug or 2 litre bottle with water. This makes a perfect weight to set on top of your foam after you glue it , while it dries.

Wow, thanks for all the input guys. I'll use some toothpicks for sure. I've got Gorilla Glue, carpenters glue, glue gun, and Elmers glue already kicking around so I'm going to experiment with these and if I cannot get satisfactory results then I'll go shopping for the things that were recommended that I don't have.

Rather than start a new thread: I'm planning to make some buildings out of this stuff. Any tips on how to most efficiently do some battle damage on the foam? I want the building to look somewhat war torn.

Using pink foam, half inch thick?
Ok lightly sketch out your ruined wall shape and cut it out.
Make the ruined sections sort of jaggy and rough.
Coat the walls after assembling with a mixture of:
Spackle or joint compound + black paint + white glue. You want about the consistancy of peanut butter.
Along the ruined edge, while mixture is still wet, press in some sand and gravel. Alternatively you could crumble some tin foil and use it to texture along the edge like a stamp. Turn it frequently to avoid repeating patterns.
Walls a half inch thick in scale would likely be made of concrete. Cut up a few bent paper clips and stick them in the broken edges to look like rebar.
Remember rubble. If a building has fallen or exploded recently there will be a lot of it around. But remember to leave flat spots to place figures.
It will help if you have a figure nearby for scale, to keep you from making doors or windows too big or small. A quarter inch can be a big difference.

* MUST BE DONE IN A WELL VENTILATED AREA!!! *

If you want a "melted" look, like from plasma or other energy based weapons, you can apply a coat of paint to areas you don't want melted, then spray primer onto the exposed parts. Allow to dry, and then paint over with normal paint, to fill in the dissolved area. Nearly impossible to control, so do a practice piece or two, to see how melted varying degrees of spray will make it. Paint it to look like an "ember" to give it a freshly ruined look.

This also works well for creating Muddy sections on flat scenery, or to look like freshly turned earth beside a crater or some such.

 snurl wrote:

Walls a half inch thick in scale would likely be made of concrete. Cut up a few bent paper clips and stick them in the broken edges to look like rebar.
.

Be careful with this one. Cut paper clips can jab into and/or cut the players fingers VERY easily (from experience)