Hard coat for foam

[Brightside]

Ok guys
I do alot of foam work. Usually I coat with a few coats of spray can urathane. This is good for weather proofing, but now I am looking for a real durable hard coat. I have used 2 part Epoxy (resin eats foam) on a number of smaller projects, but this could not only get expensive for bigger projects, but it is also prone to have small air bubbles.
Do any of you have any techneques or ideas I could use to acheive a durable Hard coat without going broke? Is there an epoxy that isn't prone to air bubbles?

[Sickie Ickie]

Several solutions have popped up on other lists:

http://www.demandproducts.com/liquidrock.html

Originally Posted by hauntedportraits.com: "It looks like the solution I'm going to end up going with after some experimenting is a mixture of wood glue, Durham Water Putty and cheese cloth. 2 parts wood glue, 1 part Durhams and 1 part water over a layer of cheese cloth. The water putty by it's self is very hard and fills well but is brittle. So by adding wood glue and spreading a mixture over a layer of cheese cloth you get a very hard, non-brittle coating. It's cheap, I can get everything I need at Lowes, it's non-toxic and no fumes..."

These come to the top of my head. You can also use fiberglass to cover it, but you need to paint it with a latex paint first, because I'm told the resin will eat through styrofoam.

[Brightside]

Man, thanks. I have been researching this for months and had heard and read that there were homemade solutions, but couln't find any recipes.
I have seen most all of the products, and it looks like there are some really good ones, but most are over my budget for now.

For future referance, here are some of the products I found.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=192622

http://www.demandproducts.com/ent.html

http://demandhotwire.com/coatings02.html

http://www.hotwiremachines.com/Coatings.htm

http://www.futuracoatings.com/

http://www.fxsupply.com/vanillacryl/van_flyer.pdf

[Sickie Ickie]

Vanillacryl looks like an awesome solution. I cringe at a possible shipping cost though.

[Xmaslilly]

Sculpt or Coat from sculpturalarts.com.
or try polycryllic that may be a spray also I'm not sure.
or Rosco Foam Coat-

I do not know cost on these though

[Sandy Claws]

Check this out too.

http://www.rosco.com/UK/scenic/foamcoat.asp

[Brightside]

Has anyone here used any of these products.

[Sickie Ickie]

Not personally, but I'm gonna have to soon for this year.

[yellowsnow]

I have been trying to find a post from a guy on the halloween forum that used a hardener but am not having any luck. Maybe some of the other members here will remember who it was and can link to it. He did a big rabbit from Song of the South that was holding a trashcan. He said something about it being for a party for his little girl. He carved the foam and sprayed this product on after he painted it and said it turns it hard as a rock but is still lightweight. He posted a link for the product and if I remember correctly it was about 10 bucks a quart. If anyone can remember this please post it here...I would love to have some of this product as well since I've come into lots of foam lately...thanks!

[Sickie Ickie]

I don't do Halloween Forum, but I know a lot of people here do!

[Mummy deer-est]

oooohhh I remember -- the trash can was disguised to look like a stump, right? I'll look for it when I get a chance.

[Xmaslilly]

Yellowsnow.I think I found what you need

Splash Mountain Prop
Posted By halloween house

http://halloweenforum.com/showthread.php?t=64956&highlight=song+south&page=2

This is the site for the hardner.
http://paverpolstore.com/index.aspx?...FQklgAodfEtOFQ

[yellowsnow]

That's it...thanks for your help...now to get in my order before I lose this site again : )

[Sickie Ickie]

I am totally speechless!!!!!!!! :idea:

[Sickie Ickie]

Now I'm even more speechless. 34.95 for 1 liter? Yikes!

[Brightside]

WOW!!!!!!
In my research I found that these sorts of materials are expensive but, WOW. They are proud of that stuff, huh.

[Brightside]

OK, I broke down and bought some. The name is Paverpol. I bought a liter.
It is the consistency of (and smells like) Elmer’s glue. It goes on white and dries clear.
I found that 2 coats is a good shell, considering that it doesn't cure to a real hard finish like epoxy. It is still a little soft, but non the less, a good protective coat for foam. Even more so if you apply a couple of coats of spray clear coat over it after you paint.
I will continue to use this until I find something better.

[Sickie Ickie]

I'm finding if I paint foam with latex house paint it adds a protective layer.

How far does the liter go?

[Brightside]

Well have used it on 2 peices (probably 4 or 5 square feet of surface on each) applying 2 coats to each and I am only about halfway through it.

[Sickie Ickie]

water soluble while wet, or do you throw the brush away after applying?

[Brightside]

cleans up with water, no problem.
But I am still looking for something a little harder than this product.

[Sickie Ickie]

I have an aquainance who uses wood glue as a coating.

[putrid]

There's got to be something out there. I remember watching something about Disney's 'Dr. Sues' (sp?) world where everything was sprayed with foam to get that look. They then coated it all with something to make it durable but didn't say with what. Has anyone ever tried just plain urethane? This stuff dries hard. However it turns yellow when cured.

[Sickie Ickie]

Yeah, but if you paint over the yellow, does it matter?

Will urethane eat through foam?

[putrid]

Use a flat finish urethane and oil base paint. I've got a few chain links left over from a Halloween project. And some urethane. Also have some lacquer. I'll try them both to see what happens.

[putrid]

First results with just one coat of stuff over some of the unfinished Great stuff foam chain links I made.

Lacquer. Soaked in and did nothing to make the foam harder or softer. It's a bust.

Polyurethane. One coat didn't seem to do anything but make the foam shinier.

Polycrylic. I used the stuff folks seal wood with. Not the glues like Mod-Podge. One coat seemed to make it a bit stronger but nothing to get excited about.

These are the results for one coat only. It's been to humid and cold to slap on a second coat. Don't think lacquer will work at all. The polycrylic seams to have the best potential and is closest to the description of the white milky stuff. Polycrylic glues like Mod-Podge is what I'll try next. If it works it'll be way cheaper than $35 a shot.

[putrid]

Sorry, forgot to add this. Sickie Ickie, I'll try the wood glue and compare it to the Mod-Podge. I've seen Elmer's White in gallon jugs before. Maybe they sell this stuff in big containers as well to make it cheaper.

[Brightside]

I recently applied (with a sponge brush) some epoxy (2 part mix) to some foam. Applied liberally it dries pretty hard. The only draw backs are it is expensive and it tends to have bubbles in the finish.