Good afternoon ALL!!!
Just gatherd up some foam from my first layout and was going to start planning out a big ass mountain… will white glue hold the layers together or will I need something stronger… J
Yeah, white glue does a pretty good job on foam.
Thanks I have got a load of it around the house…, J
White glue will work, but yellow carpenter’s glue is more resistant to moisture.
Also, check the surface of the foam sheets you have. Some manufacturers put a film on one side to act as a moisture barrier when the insulation is installed in a house. If it’s present, you’ll need to peel it off before gluing the peices together.
White and yellow glue work but take days to dry. I use a low temp glue gun so I can work on the carving and stacking right away.
I’ve read that both yellow and white glue will work, have also seen a thread that said that only the edges dry, the center, taken apart over a year later was still wet glue. I’d recommend Liquid Nails for Projects (be sure it’s for Projects) or latex caulk (cheap seems to work OK). Doesn’t take much to get a good hold. Save the white glue for holding scenic stuff in place. Also, several different mixes use it to make a goop to spread on the surface.
Have fun,
I used Liquid Nails for Projects on this mountain.
For phase one of our layout, we used styrofoam glue from a nursery/crafts shop, $1.99 for a big bottle, sticks well (wuith weights used) in 24 hours.
Phase two, no glue at all. Stacks of foam are held together with bamboo shish kabob skewers, stuck in at different angles, $0.99 per 100 at the grocery store. Once the plaster cloth dries over the top, it’s not going anywhere, and it will hold the foam in place where it sticks to the benchwork around the edges of the mountain.
The skewers allow us to separate the foam layers for rough carving, then assemble them for assessment and wire brush smoothing, then separate them for modification again, till it’s ready for plaster cloth.
To built that mountain I used 2" thick green foam and a low temp glue gun, just as Arthill does.
The mountain is 4 feet high by 6 feet long.
I believe the plastic layer that Mike refers to is placed on extruded foam sheets that are 1" or less in thickness to protect the surface from damage. I was told by one of the manufactures of this foam that the foam used to make the thinner sheets is not as firm as that used to make the ticker sheets, eg., 2", and therefore the plastic layer is added for protection from dents, etc. I would check all the sheets that you buy for the plastic protective layer to be sure it’s not present. The plastic layer will prevent the layers of foam from sticking together properly. I have some of the 2" blue foam sheets and they do not have the protective plastic layer on their surfaces.
Bob
I went down this morning to check the glue from the night before it was probably 10 hours later and the white glue was still moving around… Found a half tube of liquid nails Problem solved… I will post photos of this before I start cutting the rock for some tips from you guys… Thanks