Beaded polystyrene : The good the bad & the ugly
Apr 2, 2014 22:31:19 GMT
DMScotty, bloodchoke, and 1 more like this
Post by Brainbot on Apr 2, 2014 22:31:19 GMT
Beaded polystyrene not my favorite medium albeit plentiful and often free. This is your standard styrofoam used as packing materials, cheap ice chest etc etc. I'd much prefer to be using the extruded polystyrene. The pink and blue kind used for insulation. it must not be used much here in the south as all the big box DIY stores only carry 1/2 inch.
The good thing about the beaded is its virtually everywhere. chances are you probably have some lying about. Worse case scenario you can always dumpster dive for some or even buy some inexpensive ice coolers. I've found if you know someone that gets refrigerated meats shipped (as in Omaha steak for example) those are a great source.
The bad thing(s) is it can be a real pain in the ass to cut or shape. Now if you have a hot wire cutter you're ahead of the game. In my not so humble opinion hotwire cutters are almost a necessity. But a cheap cutter drains batteries like crazy and a higher grade one could be as much as 50 USD or more. furthermore oil based paints will dissolve it. Krylon does make an aerosolized acrylic but I can not imagine it's cheap.
The ugly part of the styrofoam is how it looks when painted. There's been some amazing terrain built from it, but those damned beads are staring back at me. So here's a quick & cheap way to cover up those unsightly beads.
Ok here's a flat piece painted black and lightly drybrushed and a chunk snapped in half exposing all those little buggers.
Next is the foam coated with thinned PVA and fine sand. Approximate 50/50 water to glue. Mix that and gradually incorporate sand til you get a thin slurry. You may want to have a dedicated brush for this. Then simply brush it on. The bristles will get gummed up with grains of sand, so have a water container handy for dipping your brush. Also clean your brush outside lest you clog up the drains. I went a lil overboard and sprinkled some sand on top while everything was still still wet.
And here's the results. As you can see no more beads even where the slurry was thinly applied. It should be relatively firm. You may have a lil sand flaking off. If it's a lot then another coat of thinned glue should lock everything down. An added bonus the watered down PVA will create a barrier allowing it to now be spray painted.
Admittedly I'm somewhat of a perfectionist. So if you're happy with your work good on you. The only opinion that matters is yours. Comments questions welcome.
The good thing about the beaded is its virtually everywhere. chances are you probably have some lying about. Worse case scenario you can always dumpster dive for some or even buy some inexpensive ice coolers. I've found if you know someone that gets refrigerated meats shipped (as in Omaha steak for example) those are a great source.
The bad thing(s) is it can be a real pain in the ass to cut or shape. Now if you have a hot wire cutter you're ahead of the game. In my not so humble opinion hotwire cutters are almost a necessity. But a cheap cutter drains batteries like crazy and a higher grade one could be as much as 50 USD or more. furthermore oil based paints will dissolve it. Krylon does make an aerosolized acrylic but I can not imagine it's cheap.
The ugly part of the styrofoam is how it looks when painted. There's been some amazing terrain built from it, but those damned beads are staring back at me. So here's a quick & cheap way to cover up those unsightly beads.
Ok here's a flat piece painted black and lightly drybrushed and a chunk snapped in half exposing all those little buggers.
Next is the foam coated with thinned PVA and fine sand. Approximate 50/50 water to glue. Mix that and gradually incorporate sand til you get a thin slurry. You may want to have a dedicated brush for this. Then simply brush it on. The bristles will get gummed up with grains of sand, so have a water container handy for dipping your brush. Also clean your brush outside lest you clog up the drains. I went a lil overboard and sprinkled some sand on top while everything was still still wet.
And here's the results. As you can see no more beads even where the slurry was thinly applied. It should be relatively firm. You may have a lil sand flaking off. If it's a lot then another coat of thinned glue should lock everything down. An added bonus the watered down PVA will create a barrier allowing it to now be spray painted.
Admittedly I'm somewhat of a perfectionist. So if you're happy with your work good on you. The only opinion that matters is yours. Comments questions welcome.