PHOTOS ATTACHED AT BOTTOM OF ORIGINAL POST
It's that time of year again when I come cruising back through the forum looking for new ideas, inspirations and techniques. And I found just that. This year I'm wanting to do some store bought tombstone modifications, among other things as always, with simple "thickening" of them. Installing conduit stake tubes and painting/sealing them in the same colour scheme.
With that I came across the thread: Need advice on XPS Foam... . In there I found exactly what I come looking for, a new technique. The classic ways of Great Stuff spray foam, Gorilla Glue, and PL300 were mentioned right away, but the new technique also came up; Glidden Gripper bonding primer paint or the current Valspar Bonding primer.
Now this was speaking to XPS foam, pink and blue specifically. Considering it's price in my parts, triple that of the white beaded stuff AND the fact that the store bought stones are made out of the white beaded stuff that's what I'll be using to make the stones at least twice if not triple thick for more realism and allow some proper stakes. Unfortunately nobody had tried it with white beaded styrofoam, then it dawned on me I've got enough scraps to run my own tests. That in combination with lots of free cheap/free paint I have collected from the past couple years, I dug those out and into the garage for some scraps.
It was then I discovered one of my cans was a water based stain, which I had used for my two auxiliary columns as a base coat, as well as the two original columns I had from YEARS before. And while that worked for colouring and sealing the corrugated plastic, poster board and white beaded styrofoam cobblestones giving it a nice base coat stone colour, I wasn't confident it was the right type of stuff to use in this new way. It was a $9 can of mis-tint from Home Depot, and it won't go to waste. It'll likely be used to cover the modified stones or other projects (a fifth "spacer" column per-se). Thankfully the FREE can of paint that is mostly full, and was a full gallon, also a stone grey colour IS a "bonding paint/primer All-In-One"". After spending the rest of the night and the next day at work thinking about it I decided I could my own tests. My original thought was to run two tests;
1. just lay it on thick, both sides of foam, and stick 'em together. No toothpicks, skewers or anything extra, now keep in mind this is just scraps and testing, and then wrapped the snot out of it in masking tape, twice horizontally and once vertically to give it some "clamping" force and keep the pieces together.
2. lay on a thinner coat on both sides of the foam, sealing it in all the little holes and cracks, letting it dry, then repeat with another coat and then stick it together.
Knowing that its foam, porous, and kind of abosorbent was the reason I thought about the two different tests. If the first pieces just drank the paint and didn't leave enough to dry and stick to itself, then I knew I would have to do the second version of laying a thin "sealing"coat first.
The blocking bonding primer can I was using has a steel lid and when I tell you I fought with peeling that lid off the can in a way that had me using some choice words I ain't kidding ya. As with every paint can, there was paint around the lip and it was some kinda stuck on there. Scared of slipping and cutting myself open again, it took some effort to pry the lid off. So much so it had a nice banana curve to it. This gave me some confidence its got some adhesion power, at least to itself. Foam was still a little shakey. Finally peeled the lid off and mixed it as much as I cared to. It's only gonna be used as a"glue" so it didn't need to be mixed for colour, though making sure it was well mixed to not be seperated was just as important. It was thick and sludgey, but I got it to a point of spreadable with a decent colour and consistency. With a dollar store craft paint brush that has hairs thicker than mine, I laid out my pieces of white foam and did exactly as described. Laid it on thick like a slumlord landlord on two pieces, stuck 'em together. Then a thinner coat on the other two pieces.
Both were going to need some time to dry, and after two discoveries at this point, I let them do their thing. First discovery was that can lid. Steel lid, I don't want to misshape it further than I already have causing a bad seal on the can until I'm ready to open it again for more use. Second discovery came the day after, at least a full 24hrs post painting. I couldn't help myself but to peel the tape off the first two test pieces and give them a pry.
Given I used two relatively small pieces of foam to start with, not much bigger than my palm, I didn't leave myself a whole lot to hang onto. I'm also reminding myself it's just going to be for added thickness so their not gonna need to withstand getting tossed around too much, they are foam after all. Not gonna be playing football with them or anything stupid, right. BUT what I found out pleased me. The pieces were firmly stuck together, and while they could probably be pulled together if you really tried I have a feeling it's not gonna be the paint that lets go but rather the foam breaking and chunking apart due to its beaded structure. The gaps between the pieces were minimal, and while there was some squeeze out of paint, I'm fine with that. It tells me there's good coverage and its the right colour for stone work anyway.
The second test pieces haven't got their second wet coat and attempted to be stuck together yet, mostly for the reason mentioned above. That lid was a fight. And if I don't need to extend the waiting time while using MORE paint, why would I? It's not and endless supply, but I do think most of this gallon will spread pretty far though, I'm not really wanting to spend more budget on a fresh can to apply it to Halloween. The only thing I have left to do is to cut through the center of it and check it's adhesion in the middle while vaguely testing its ability to remain workable/carveable. The only thing I could see being an issue is the squeeze out and sandpaper gunking up. I'm sure this could be alleviated being more careful in coverage around the edges or wiping/cleaning it up before it dries.
Best part of it was figuring out that I don't need to use a brand new store bought can, but instead use a FREE can that only ran me the cost of my signature on a piece of paper a local recycling center. I was there returning pop and beer cans anyway. And while the recycling center slapped their big orange warning sticker, the original owners poured the paint over the English side, I could see enough of the label to see it was "blocking primer all-in-one" and figured what's the hurt? I figured the short hand on the top label meant "paint-primer" so it was good enough for me to give it a go. Below are some photos I have of what primer I used, the test pieces of styrofoam and other bits. I'll also see If I can get the video attached in here somehow way.
The first two test pieces showing all around the edge and gaps if any. Being white beaded styrofoam it's diffcult to get it fully contacted based on its beaded structure.
The two test pieces with only a thin sealing coat. One to show coverage and the second to show how much it absorbed into the foam itself. Again, they have not been re-coated and stuck together while taped/weighted/clamped
TL;DR: All-In-One Paint-Primer worked to adhere two pieces of WHITE foam board together. Well enough for me and my application in this instance.
It's that time of year again when I come cruising back through the forum looking for new ideas, inspirations and techniques. And I found just that. This year I'm wanting to do some store bought tombstone modifications, among other things as always, with simple "thickening" of them. Installing conduit stake tubes and painting/sealing them in the same colour scheme.
With that I came across the thread: Need advice on XPS Foam... . In there I found exactly what I come looking for, a new technique. The classic ways of Great Stuff spray foam, Gorilla Glue, and PL300 were mentioned right away, but the new technique also came up; Glidden Gripper bonding primer paint or the current Valspar Bonding primer.
Now this was speaking to XPS foam, pink and blue specifically. Considering it's price in my parts, triple that of the white beaded stuff AND the fact that the store bought stones are made out of the white beaded stuff that's what I'll be using to make the stones at least twice if not triple thick for more realism and allow some proper stakes. Unfortunately nobody had tried it with white beaded styrofoam, then it dawned on me I've got enough scraps to run my own tests. That in combination with lots of free cheap/free paint I have collected from the past couple years, I dug those out and into the garage for some scraps.
It was then I discovered one of my cans was a water based stain, which I had used for my two auxiliary columns as a base coat, as well as the two original columns I had from YEARS before. And while that worked for colouring and sealing the corrugated plastic, poster board and white beaded styrofoam cobblestones giving it a nice base coat stone colour, I wasn't confident it was the right type of stuff to use in this new way. It was a $9 can of mis-tint from Home Depot, and it won't go to waste. It'll likely be used to cover the modified stones or other projects (a fifth "spacer" column per-se). Thankfully the FREE can of paint that is mostly full, and was a full gallon, also a stone grey colour IS a "bonding paint/primer All-In-One"". After spending the rest of the night and the next day at work thinking about it I decided I could my own tests. My original thought was to run two tests;
1. just lay it on thick, both sides of foam, and stick 'em together. No toothpicks, skewers or anything extra, now keep in mind this is just scraps and testing, and then wrapped the snot out of it in masking tape, twice horizontally and once vertically to give it some "clamping" force and keep the pieces together.
2. lay on a thinner coat on both sides of the foam, sealing it in all the little holes and cracks, letting it dry, then repeat with another coat and then stick it together.
Knowing that its foam, porous, and kind of abosorbent was the reason I thought about the two different tests. If the first pieces just drank the paint and didn't leave enough to dry and stick to itself, then I knew I would have to do the second version of laying a thin "sealing"coat first.
The blocking bonding primer can I was using has a steel lid and when I tell you I fought with peeling that lid off the can in a way that had me using some choice words I ain't kidding ya. As with every paint can, there was paint around the lip and it was some kinda stuck on there. Scared of slipping and cutting myself open again, it took some effort to pry the lid off. So much so it had a nice banana curve to it. This gave me some confidence its got some adhesion power, at least to itself. Foam was still a little shakey. Finally peeled the lid off and mixed it as much as I cared to. It's only gonna be used as a"glue" so it didn't need to be mixed for colour, though making sure it was well mixed to not be seperated was just as important. It was thick and sludgey, but I got it to a point of spreadable with a decent colour and consistency. With a dollar store craft paint brush that has hairs thicker than mine, I laid out my pieces of white foam and did exactly as described. Laid it on thick like a slumlord landlord on two pieces, stuck 'em together. Then a thinner coat on the other two pieces.
Both were going to need some time to dry, and after two discoveries at this point, I let them do their thing. First discovery was that can lid. Steel lid, I don't want to misshape it further than I already have causing a bad seal on the can until I'm ready to open it again for more use. Second discovery came the day after, at least a full 24hrs post painting. I couldn't help myself but to peel the tape off the first two test pieces and give them a pry.
Given I used two relatively small pieces of foam to start with, not much bigger than my palm, I didn't leave myself a whole lot to hang onto. I'm also reminding myself it's just going to be for added thickness so their not gonna need to withstand getting tossed around too much, they are foam after all. Not gonna be playing football with them or anything stupid, right. BUT what I found out pleased me. The pieces were firmly stuck together, and while they could probably be pulled together if you really tried I have a feeling it's not gonna be the paint that lets go but rather the foam breaking and chunking apart due to its beaded structure. The gaps between the pieces were minimal, and while there was some squeeze out of paint, I'm fine with that. It tells me there's good coverage and its the right colour for stone work anyway.
The second test pieces haven't got their second wet coat and attempted to be stuck together yet, mostly for the reason mentioned above. That lid was a fight. And if I don't need to extend the waiting time while using MORE paint, why would I? It's not and endless supply, but I do think most of this gallon will spread pretty far though, I'm not really wanting to spend more budget on a fresh can to apply it to Halloween. The only thing I have left to do is to cut through the center of it and check it's adhesion in the middle while vaguely testing its ability to remain workable/carveable. The only thing I could see being an issue is the squeeze out and sandpaper gunking up. I'm sure this could be alleviated being more careful in coverage around the edges or wiping/cleaning it up before it dries.
Best part of it was figuring out that I don't need to use a brand new store bought can, but instead use a FREE can that only ran me the cost of my signature on a piece of paper a local recycling center. I was there returning pop and beer cans anyway. And while the recycling center slapped their big orange warning sticker, the original owners poured the paint over the English side, I could see enough of the label to see it was "blocking primer all-in-one" and figured what's the hurt? I figured the short hand on the top label meant "paint-primer" so it was good enough for me to give it a go. Below are some photos I have of what primer I used, the test pieces of styrofoam and other bits. I'll also see If I can get the video attached in here somehow way.
The first two test pieces showing all around the edge and gaps if any. Being white beaded styrofoam it's diffcult to get it fully contacted based on its beaded structure.
The two test pieces with only a thin sealing coat. One to show coverage and the second to show how much it absorbed into the foam itself. Again, they have not been re-coated and stuck together while taped/weighted/clamped
TL;DR: All-In-One Paint-Primer worked to adhere two pieces of WHITE foam board together. Well enough for me and my application in this instance.
