Blue insulating Styrofoam, what glues, tapes to use/avoid
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Blue insulating Styrofoam, what glues, tapes to use/avoid
I have a project at work (parade float) that was sort of thrown in my lap to complete) we have to be ready my Memorial day. The main structure of the float is two open books the body of the books is apprently to be made out of DOW Blue insulating Styrofoam. My job is to some how make this all work. We need to adhere posternoard and various papers to the foam board.
Any advice/suggestions would eb great. Also the cheaper the better.
Any advice/suggestions would eb great. Also the cheaper the better.
"Ricky, that's not very good. Use space words, real ones, not talking about space weed."
White glue or wood glue should work fine. Epoxy will also work.
Superglue ( cyanoacrelate ) will melt the stuff, as will regular
styrene cement. If time permits, I'd use the insul-foam as a
base, and build the 'book' out of paper mache'. Poster paints
would probably be the way to go for the finish.
Superglue ( cyanoacrelate ) will melt the stuff, as will regular
styrene cement. If time permits, I'd use the insul-foam as a
base, and build the 'book' out of paper mache'. Poster paints
would probably be the way to go for the finish.
"Semper fiendish"-Wen Yo
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Thank you!Dr. Yo wrote:White glue or wood glue should work fine. Epoxy will also work.
Superglue ( cyanoacrelate ) will melt the stuff, as will regular
styrene cement. If time permits, I'd use the insul-foam as a
base, and build the 'book' out of paper mache'. Poster paints
would probably be the way to go for the finish.
"Ricky, that's not very good. Use space words, real ones, not talking about space weed."
- The Mad Klingon
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After experimenting with several adhesives I discovered good old wood glue works just fine as does Gorilla Glue.
http://forum.fpkclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=39
I was surprised to learn that certain contact cements like goop also eat up the foam.
http://forum.fpkclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=39
I was surprised to learn that certain contact cements like goop also eat up the foam.
Last edited by The Mad Klingon on Tue May 19, 2009 1:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Avoid any glues or paints with strong solvents.
IIRC...Dow ( blue or pink ) foams are made from foamed styrene.
You may have drying issues with white ( PVA ) glues...the air will have a hard time getting at the glue.
Super 77 may be your best bet.(spray a light coat on each surface for a strong bond)..however, the formula was changed a while back...making the glue a bit "hotter" and it could cause some issues if used too heavy.
Epoxies are a good alternative...but pricey if you need a lot.
Your best bet is to contact 3M and speak with a techie...or...visit their web site...I believe they have a glue selection wizard on their site.
IIRC...Dow ( blue or pink ) foams are made from foamed styrene.
You may have drying issues with white ( PVA ) glues...the air will have a hard time getting at the glue.
Super 77 may be your best bet.(spray a light coat on each surface for a strong bond)..however, the formula was changed a while back...making the glue a bit "hotter" and it could cause some issues if used too heavy.
Epoxies are a good alternative...but pricey if you need a lot.
Your best bet is to contact 3M and speak with a techie...or...visit their web site...I believe they have a glue selection wizard on their site.
Modelnutz Mused
Not as much as you might think, Ed. I've used it to laminate sections
a number of times and while it will take about half a day for a good set,
it does cure out ok. Honest!
You may have drying issues with white ( PVA ) glues...the air will have a hard time getting at the glue.
Not as much as you might think, Ed. I've used it to laminate sections
a number of times and while it will take about half a day for a good set,
it does cure out ok. Honest!
"Semper fiendish"-Wen Yo
- Joseph C. Brown
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The key thing - for me at least - that when using any type of PVA / wood glue, use something, anything, to squeegee the glue to as thin a layer as is possible.
Otherwise, it WILL take forever to dry.
That's based on lots of personal experience with foam in a mildly humid part of the country; your milage just may well vary.
Otherwise, it WILL take forever to dry.
That's based on lots of personal experience with foam in a mildly humid part of the country; your milage just may well vary.
________
Joe Brown
Joe Brown
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I'll second that one. Once dry the glue is foam...not very puffy but sort of the same stuff. The seams become invisible, it shapes and sands like it's one piece, and it will never fail!Kylwell wrote:Gorilla GLue works wonders with blue foam. Just be sure to clam it securely.
Chris "overkill everytime" Binnett
The "trickle-down" theory: the principle that the poor, who must subsist on table scraps dropped by the rich, can best be served by giving the rich bigger meals. W. Blum
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When using wood glue I would put a piece of newspaper in between to help it dry. The paper got in the way when carving the Styrofoam so I stopped sing that. It was good for gluing together large sheets ofStyrofoam.
There is chaulking glue specifically for the blue stuff but I never found it worked well. I have never tried the Gorilla glue but is sounds very promising.
For speed I mainly use hot glue but make sure the temperature is low or it may melt the Styrofoam. I just set my hot glue gun to the lower setting. Train guys have a low temp hot glue gun and glue made specifically for Styrofoam but I stick with the cheaper hardware store stuff.
There is chaulking glue specifically for the blue stuff but I never found it worked well. I have never tried the Gorilla glue but is sounds very promising.
For speed I mainly use hot glue but make sure the temperature is low or it may melt the Styrofoam. I just set my hot glue gun to the lower setting. Train guys have a low temp hot glue gun and glue made specifically for Styrofoam but I stick with the cheaper hardware store stuff.
- Lichtbringer
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Usually i use http://www.pattex.de/Pattex-Montage-Kra ... 493.0.html when making my dio-cores out of Styrofoam.
Before that i used Woodglue, but this stuff works much better, a lot faster and noticeable stronger.
No idea if it is available at your place, but if ..... use it.
Before that i used Woodglue, but this stuff works much better, a lot faster and noticeable stronger.
No idea if it is available at your place, but if ..... use it.
Have a nice day.
Bye,
Michael
I´m just a simple man, trying to glue my way in the universe.
http://s527.photobucket.com/home/Lichtbote/allalbums
Bye,
Michael
I´m just a simple man, trying to glue my way in the universe.
http://s527.photobucket.com/home/Lichtbote/allalbums
Aside from the water-based part, that sounds a lot like Liquid Nails in the US...Lichtbringer wrote:Usually i use http://www.pattex.de/Pattex-Montage-Kra ... 493.0.html when making my dio-cores out of Styrofoam.
Before that i used Woodglue, but this stuff works much better, a lot faster and noticeable stronger.
No idea if it is available at your place, but if ..... use it.
-Rog
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I beg to differ:Dr. Yo wrote:Modelnutz MusedYou may have drying issues with white ( PVA ) glues...the air will have a hard time getting at the glue.
Not as much as you might think, Ed. I've used it to laminate sections
a number of times and while it will take about half a day for a good set,
it does cure out ok. Honest!
styrofoam is air tight and pva is air-dry. If you try to join two sheets of styrofoam with pva it only ever dries where the air can get at it i.e. around the edges and a short way into the boards.
We have slit apart 4-5 year old sheets of styrofoam to find still-wet pva inside them.
its the same story for all air-dry glues, so forget any and all emulsions.
In fact most "adhesion" comes from surface-tension away from the edges and not actually being cemented together.
you need to use either a contact adhesive such as UHU Por or a specialist foam glue such as Foam-2-foam if you want a proper seal.
obviously if you are using expanded polystyrene then this wont apply as it isnt closed-cell like styrofoam and is therefore not airtight.
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yeah, the bigger the sheet the bigger the problem.
what we found was that the glue doesnt dry anything more than about 1cm in from the edge of the sheet, however the wet PVA inside that does a good job of keeping the sheets together via surface tension.
if you try to split the sheets apart the glue on the edges is enough to hold them, but a slip force, applied along the lgnethof the sheets, usually breaks that bond and the surface tension, resulting in the sheets sheering apart and exposing the un-set glue.
' should be said that we are usually using sheets of 600mmx600mm as the smallest though, but it holds true for any size due to how litle glue actually sets up on the edge.
Depends what you are using the styrofoam for though - i doubt it is a problem for most small pieces, but if you ever need to be sure that a sheet or piece if proerply glued across the whole surface area then i would recommend a contact adhesive like UHU Por.
we have seen somebody lean onto a large gaming display which had two sheets of styrofoam one on top of the other (and glued with PVA) - the top sheet sheered off completely from the bottom one and the gamer fell face down onto the gaming table.
but, yes, its really just something to be aware of rather than a "dont use it ever!" sort of thing.
what we found was that the glue doesnt dry anything more than about 1cm in from the edge of the sheet, however the wet PVA inside that does a good job of keeping the sheets together via surface tension.
if you try to split the sheets apart the glue on the edges is enough to hold them, but a slip force, applied along the lgnethof the sheets, usually breaks that bond and the surface tension, resulting in the sheets sheering apart and exposing the un-set glue.
' should be said that we are usually using sheets of 600mmx600mm as the smallest though, but it holds true for any size due to how litle glue actually sets up on the edge.
Depends what you are using the styrofoam for though - i doubt it is a problem for most small pieces, but if you ever need to be sure that a sheet or piece if proerply glued across the whole surface area then i would recommend a contact adhesive like UHU Por.
we have seen somebody lean onto a large gaming display which had two sheets of styrofoam one on top of the other (and glued with PVA) - the top sheet sheered off completely from the bottom one and the gamer fell face down onto the gaming table.
but, yes, its really just something to be aware of rather than a "dont use it ever!" sort of thing.
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Agreed. I've built entire sets and set-pieces from the pink and blue foam and ALWAYS use liquid nails. About a two-hour working time and set within 24 hours (in optimal temperature and humidity conditions).Rogviler wrote:And for the 40th suggestion...
For quick and dirty like a parade float I would personally use Liquid Nails. It doesn't eat the foam and it sticks quickly. Make sure you get the brown kind, as the clear is ridiculously flexible.
-Rog
I am fearful when I see people substituting fear for reason
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Thanks for all the help. Everything went off without a hitch and it looks like this may become an annual thing
some pictures from the parade
some pictures from the parade
"Ricky, that's not very good. Use space words, real ones, not talking about space weed."