First Sign in Blue Foam / Polymer

[joe]

Good going boys,

I'm not sure Styrospray can be sprayed with normal equipment. They told me to use a Wagner sprayer. After I bought one and it didn't work then they told me the NEW Wagner, which I bought, won't work. That was a $50 loss.

If I may, I'd suggest using epoxy. It dry's much harder and sticks much better. Be careful with Styrospray on blue and pink foam. They suggest sanding it down first. It's made to work on white beadboard. Pleasecall them to get the info on blue and pink foams before you get too far down the road. Another advantage to epoxy it doesn't loose fine detail.the detail and you can get it anywhere.





Here's my assistant, Ron, laughing as Styrospray falls off the sign. This stuff is very low on my recommendation list.

Joe

[gwerner]

That is weird, the stuff I mixed doesn't want to peel or tear, matter of fact, I got some on a table surface, and I had to chisel it off. I wonder if hand mixing and brushing yields different results than spraying. I guess your mileage really does vary. :0)

[joe]

Greg,

Styrospray dries with humidity. For that reason you can't use a standard spraygun, according to them, due to the moisture in the line. That's the reason they recommend the Wagner. Don't try it either.

I'd suggest you call them about the release materials used on blue foam.

Why not give epoxy a try. You can get a fast or slow drying variety and it's fool proof.

Good luck on your projects.

Joe

[joe]

Greg,


This another Styrospray failure. The customer picked up the sign which was fabricated with using styrospray. During the installation process it developed stress fractures. The front and back were 1.5" HDU, 15lb. The center was Dow styrene foam.Apparently the mold release keep it from bonding properly. These kind of failures causes a production shop like mine to stop and re-think.

I was so embaresed and gladly made them another sign with the promise it would hold up. The retail price for the sign was $4,600. This came out of my personal pocket. Anyone considering their products should think it over very carefuly. This was our third failure with Styrospray over a two year period.




I posted a step by step of the replacement. This is only a small section of the finished sign.

Joe Crumley

[mikeacg]

I'm handmixing and brush painting and it seems to be working pretty good. I'm donating the soccer signs so at least they can't ask for their money back.
What is this epoxy called, Joe, if I want to buy some and try it?

[myxpykalix]

Greg,
Your second picture shows the varying heights better and i really like the way you have the outer deminsion of the lettering with the inset paint. It gives it a nice deminsions. Did you say you started from a 2d picture? Regarding your bit length, i have seen extra long bits i think they make specificaly for foam cutting. The one i saw was a .5 shank and was at least 6" long, not sure if they make anything like that in .25 shank. Again, very nice project.

[joe]

My hats off to Greg also. It's a nice concept and techniques.
Michael,
There are several manufacturers of epoxy. Too many to list but you should be able to get what you need at Lowe's or Home Depot. The type of epoxy you want is the kind boat builders use. The magazine Wooden Boat show the history of it's success. I use Precision Board's epoxy knows PB Resin. I like it best because it's about the same thickness as honey. Not too thin. It sets up overnight, giving enough time to work with. Another very popular brand is West Epoxy. As it comes from the can it's a little too thin and runny for me. But an excellent product.
Www.westsystems.com
www.precisionboard.com
This is the same epoxy I mix a little color in to fill routed letters.




One more important consideration is, epoxy will not melt foam.



Joe

[billp]

Mike,
You might also want to see if there is a distributor for MAS epoxy ( www.masepoxies.com) near you. I've used their epoxy product for years to build boats, signs, and foam statues. With most modern epoxies you can alter your curing speed, viscosity, and final surface.
I happen to like MAS because it's "cleaner" than many other brands with a minimum of VOC's. In fact most of the time you can clean up your hands, and tools with white vinegar, instead of acetone. I don't know if anyone has become "sensitized"to MAS, but I do know that some of the other well known brands can be a liability over time due to continued exposure to the resin, and dust. It also sands easier than some of the other brands as well.
I've posted a bunch of previous messages about different techniques of using the stuff to coat materials, so the search engine should steer you in the right direction.
I had tried the Styrospray stuff years ago, and came away with the same results many people had complained of; "slumping" material on vertical surfaces which took a lot of time to sand/repair. And the loss of detail worked against all of the time I had spent in carving some of my pieces, so the epoxy was a much better choice for me.

[joe]

Thanks Bill for posting about Mas epoxy. I haven't tried it but know it's a good product if you give it a thumbs up. Boat builders are the key for me to follow and Mas is at home there.

Joe Crumley

[JohnG]

very nice Greg. Excellent paint job on the smaller details.