I have a friend I am going to help out, creating a scene with stones on the wall. What is a cheap foam I could use to do this? Maybe 2" thick, not sure. I was thinking of carving it with an exacto, or dremeling it, then painting, airbrushing it afterwards.
Posted by John Arnott (Member # 215) on :
Styrofoam.....Hot cutting blade/wire. Little exactos and dremel tools are way too small. A 4" grinder at Harbor Freight is only $20. Think production work. Cut and shape all the "Stones" and glue to wall. Then Brush any thick primer coat and try to add texture to this base coat. No airbrush....too small. I would paint with all old house paints. Splatter and sponge on finish textures.
Posted by Bobbie Rochow (Member # 3341) on :
Sounds good John, but where do I get the styrofoam? Lowes?
Posted by John Arnott (Member # 215) on :
yes
Posted by Bobbie Rochow (Member # 3341) on :
Thanks a bunch!
Posted by Bobbie Rochow (Member # 3341) on :
Thanks a bunch!
Posted by Kelly Thorson (Member # 2958) on :
Hi Bobbi, If you want to make the stones a bit hardier, I've made a hard coat from Weldbond glue and latex paint mixed 50%/50% (you likely could cut back some on the glue)and sand. Indoors you could probably use cheaper glue. If you are simulating rock use coarse sand even some small gravel. If you use a cream or grey paint you can drybush some colours on later or else paint the whole stone again for variation. You can use Styrofoam or EPS foam (the pink or blue insulating stuff) that you get from a lumberyard. If you are going to hot cut it make sure you do it outside, the fumes are quite toxic.
Posted by Sonny Franks (Member # 588) on :
Bobbie, the insulating foam can be sprayed with an enamel rattle can and it will eat into the surface and give you a quick and easy rock texture - make sure to peel the plastic cover first.....
Posted by Mike Pipes (Member # 1573) on :
If you have acetone handy, you can spray the styro with that and it will melt in a pretty "rock-like" way. Spray it through an airbrush for control because a little goes a long way.
Posted by Michael Clanton (Member # 2419) on :
I have made several large stone projects for theater designs and even signage ...
1.) work on the project outside if possible- white beadboard and other types of foam are extremely messy- lots of static, so it sticks to everything you don't want it to. 2.) a cheap electric knife (like you would use in the kitchen) and a heat gun (like some people use to remove vinyl) latex or acrylic house paint- just about all the tools you need. cut the shape with the electric knife, use the heat gun to melt the texture (doesn't take much heat) then paint...
3.) spraying acetone does do the trick, but you can't get it to stop "melting" the foam- I have a project that was a couple of years old and you could still hear the foam poping and cracking- the chemical reaction was still going on-and I airbrushed very small amounts-I would stay away from it.
4.) Kelly's trick is good because no matter how cool it looks, it is still easy to damage unless you can coat it with something to make it tough.
Posted by David Harding (Member # 108) on :
A few years ago, I made a couple rocks out of white beaded foam as stage props for a drama. I glued 4" blocks together, rough cut them using a Sawsall with a 12" blade, and then sprayed with a mixture of white sugar sand, bonding agent, and white portland. I should have sifted things first. The gun clogged and a gallon or two of stuff in the hopper gun blew out the top, coating me with enough of that white concoction that I looked like Lot's wife for a while.
Posted by Bobbie Rochow (Member # 3341) on :
These are all good idea, I like Kelly's too...hmmmm...thanks guys.
