Thread: great stuff to form shapes

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Can Great STuff be used to make shapes? I am looking to make ribs for the skeleton reindeer in Nightmare before Xmas. I thought that I could spray out a line of great stuff on to a piece of plastic (covered with talcum powder). Once it was dried, will it hold together if I bend it or fall apart?

Thx for help in advance.

PS what is the best way to clear the plastic trigger nozzle that come with each can of great stuff?

The foam will break / split apart as you try to bend it. Not recommended at all.

As for the trigger, just use some bendable plastic straws (like those you drink out of). They fit right over and work well. I learned that trick Ask This Old House!

Originally Posted by BeaconSamurai

The foam will break / split apart as you try to bend it. Not recommended at all.

As for the trigger, just use some bendable plastic straws (like those you drink out of). They fit right over and work well. I learned that trick Ask This Old House!

OOOOO. Nice tip. Thanks a bunch!

I would use some thick wire that can bend with pipe insulation for the ribs

I clean the nozzle with acetone. a couple drops dissolves the uncured great stuff quickly. Clean out the trigger same way and a couple drops straight into the can and it's like new and ready to go for next time.

forming great stuff is hard to do. It can be done to bulk areas out but not to make ribs or fingers by itself. You could experiment with using the great stuff to bulk up some kind of home made skeleton underneath.
If you're bulking up something underneath, there are a couple of tricks you can try. First is to build up the area with great stuff and then use a hobby stick or tongue depressor to tap down the high parts right as it's first layed down. The tapped parts will deflate a bit and you can get a somewhat even surface. Second is after letting the great stuff set for a minute or two, the top layer will become stretchy you can grab it with the tongue depressor and pull and stretch it into shape. This is tricky tho, if you wait too long it doesn't work and if you do it too soon the GS deflates. third is to using a utility knife to trim off parts after it's completely cured.
All these need something under the great stuff to give it some backbone and I've never been able to get it into exactly the right shape myself but close enough to be able to work with it.

Gl, have fun and get messy

I found a pic of a built up hand with great stuff. The hand was bulked up with GS, allowed to dry the trimmed down with a utility knife. Then given texture and filled in a couple hollow areas with the construction adhesive. I wish I had a pic of the hand after trimming the GS too. The hands were attached to a pumpkin rot with pvc fittings

I used to just carve bones out of styrofoam coolers. Once you have the shape cut squeeze the foam and sort of bend it into a rib shape. It might take a couple to get the feel of how much force you can use before breaking. I used to even hotglue them onto my clothes and they held up pretty well.
If you still want to use greatstuff try applying it over a barrel shaped form to get the curve you want then sand smooth.

i use a coat hanger to clear out the tube, just be careful not to force it too much once you get to the base or it will break out the back.

For the reindeer you could make the ribcage out wire and cover with newspaper or masking tape to scrunched up to bulk it up take GS spray into a disposable container then get a rubber disposable glove and spread it on the newspaper/tape and then trim down the bumps you dont want. Ive done that before for skeleton ribcages

I agree with Hypro about just covering the wire with tape, but I prefer duct tape. Also put on a latex glove so you can spread it out without putting too much on. Also ribs can be difficult because you have so many different positions to apply so it could fall to the ground. Maybe do one angle of the ribs than when it starts to cure where it won't fall off than you might want to apply it at another angle....Good Luck!

For ribs i usually take an old bucket and draw them on...then carve out with a knife.Give it a spray with spray foam and smooth out with dremel.Works for me...even a little bendie if needed
Good luck

I used it to fill a mold and it worked pretty good. The stuff I used is black found at Lowes which is the exact same stuff but made for water feature cracks and voids at about 3 times the cost. :P

I plug the tube by forcing a large screw into it.

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