Note:
Anything underlined is a link to an image or website!
Pink Housing Foam (Insulation)
Where to Find It
I found mine at Home Depot, tucked into the back of the store in the Windows/Insulation area. It came in three thicknesses – ½ inch, 1 inch, and 2 inch. All three sheets were about 10 feet long. It cost like $12.50 without tax.
List of Places that Sell the Foam:
Home Depot
Menards (Info Credit: PrincessYuni)
Lowes (This sells the -BLUE- version)
Canada
Home Hardware (Info Credit: djaxle)
Rona (Info Credit: Jessia)
So what I did was I took my sheet to the lumber section, found someone, and politely asked them to cut it in half. They have a giant lumber cutting machine that will do it in the blink of an eye and leave a clean cut. Do NOT let them cut it any other way. Any other way will leave mars and pinched foam.
I actually forgot about this! You can buy this foam in blue. It comes in pink and blue but the blue stuff is a different company. Lowes sells the blue stuff - awaiting confirmation that most do. (Info Credit: halafax) You can also have the pink foam shipped to you through 1800-GET-PINK which is their company.
What Else to Buy
1)
Liquid Nails and a
Caulk Gun -- If you plan on gluing it down, I recommend this stuff called “Liquid Nails” (look for the blue can that says ‘foamboard’ on it since it comes in several varities.) This stuff takes a long time to dry, but can be very useful. It is thick, and can be used to patch holes (pinches, mars) in the foam. It can be sanded down. It will not melt the foam at all. This stuff is REALLY strong. The upper layer of the foam will rip off before the glue separates! (Tested this, that’s how I know.)
Caulk Gun is the device you put a tube of stuff like Liquid Nails into! You snip the VERY VERY tip of the Liquid Nails clearish plastic tip, then use a long nail or something to stick it through that tip and pierce the seal. Then put the liquid nails into the Caulk Gun so the end (not the tip) is at the same end as the handle. Squeeze the handle of the gun slowly, and the end will push into the butt of the Liquid Nails and make it come out.
Note – you can decrease the pressure of the gun on the Liquid Nails by click the little handle on the back and pulling the thin metal rod back. Do this when you are finished so the glue doesn’t ooze out!
2)
Gesso -- If you plan on painting it, go to a craft store and buy Gesso. It comes in many different sizes, and is useful for tons of things. I bought this massive jug of it for $14.00 and I’ve barely used any of it. Gesso is amazingly useful. You can do multiple layers on anything you wish to paint, and sand the gesso down for a smooth finish. It does not melt foam. You will NEED this before you paint foam because the paint will just soak into the foam, and possible melt it.
3)
Foam Brushes -- Buy several sizes of foam (black foam) brushes. Large, medium, and small cost me less then a dollar. Perfect for painting and gessoing.
4) Sand Paper -- This is god for foam. You will need a course, medium, and fine. These are determined by numbers. 50 = very course 120 = medium 200 = very fine. I would get all three of these. They last a long time.
5)
Face Mask – For when you are sanding or cutting, the dust hurts your lungs. You will need to wear a face mask. Got 5 for $3.00 at Home Depot, in the painting department.
6) Ruler -- A long, straight ruler, usually in metal. You’ll need this a lot. You can draw right onto foam. I’d recommend getting two – a long 3 foot one and a shorter 1 foot one.
7)
Ear Plugs - Cost of like 50 cents from Home Depot. These are ONLY nesessary if you are using a large table/band/scroll saw to cut the foam. It -squeals- when its being cut, and can hurt your ears!
8) Instruments to Cut With – Explained in detail below.
Ways to Cut the Foam
This is the part that taker some serious trial and error. I can only relate what I have done, and possibly will edit this part as more information comes.
1)
Utility Knife – this is a very basic way to cut the foam. It does VERY nicely when you can put your ruler down and cut straight lines. This does not do well for curves. This will NOT cut through 2 inches of foam – but would do nicely for ½ inch varieties.
2)
Electric Carving Knife – I used this for a while, but now I would not recommend it. The blades break too easily.
3) Large Saws – I’m putting several things under here. These are things you might have in your basement/parent’s basement, might want to buy. All of these devices are meant to cut
wood and can excellently cut foam too.
a)
Bandsaw – this is what I used. A large device with a flat surface and a saw that moves rapidly. This comes in many sizes and price tags. This is PERFECT for cutting foam and wood. Curves are a little hard to do on this, but can be done and sanded to perfection.
b)
Table Saw – Excellent for straight cuts. Also you can buy a ‘guide’ that does exact angle cuts. Ask about that wherever you buy this. Table saws = EXPENSIVE.
c)
Scrollsaw – This is a scrollsaw. This can do delicate, very fine curves and angles. This takes some time to get good at, but is a miracle worker. The blades are very fragile though and take some work to learn not to break.
4)
Hot Wire Cutter – Got mine at Michael’s. This is a cheapy thing that does larger, straight cuts. A little hard on angles. I got mine for like… $12.00 with 2 D batteries.
NOTE: You must work in a well ventilated area for this! The fumes are DANGEROUS.
5)
Hot Knife – I have not used this yet, but I want to. I have been told these are the best when it comes to cutting foam, and can do curves and straight lines.
NOTE: You must work in a well ventilated area for this! The fumes are DANGEROUS.
Notes on Cutting and Carving
1) Draw everything out on the foam. Just use a pencil and lightly draw everything you want to do onto the surface of the foam before you cut anything. You must press lightly or you’ll rip into the foam. The pencil won’t show up much – it’ll leave lines behind in the surface.
2) When doing the intial cuts from the larger piece of foam, whittle it down. If you’re using a ¼ of the sheet, do yourself a favor and cut the other 3/4s off before you keep going.
3) Cutting and sanding the foam makes a LOT of mess. The light particles spread very far. I found a vacuum with a hose SO much help in this. It’ll suck the mess right up. Wear clothing that you can take off as soon as you are done, because you WILL track this stuff everywhere. Do not work with foam barefoot.
4) Wear a face mask at all times. Very important. While sanding, the dust will kick up and you will breathe it in. NOT good for your lungs and can leave them very sore.
5) Use the course sand paper to take off harsh, larger chunks of foam, the medium to get it into shape, and the fine to smooth it down. You’ll have to learn how to use the three coursenesses to your advantage.
6) If you are not slow and careful when using an electric carving knife, a utility knife, or sand paper, the foam will 'pinch' and 'mar' - the edges will nick and no longer be nice and smooth. You can sand most of the pinches and mars out, but not all! These can also be filled in with the Liquid Nails Glue.
Extra Notes
1)
Be very careful! This foam is dense but snaps very easily!
2) It is also flammable! Keep away from open fire. I called 1800-Get-Pink and they said a hot knife/hot wire cutter will melt the foam, but not make it catch fire. If you leave it near a fireplace/candle/stove/whatever, it DOES have a flash point! So do not –sand- or –cut- near an open flame, because the dust can ‘flash’ and make a fireball. The foam-dust does not travel all that far, but better safe then sorry!
3) Gesso, in many layers, can help to keep the foam stronger. Also, try using shellac to give it a matte or shiny finish with more strength. Remember, shellac goes on -last-, even after painting.
4) Also, it has been mentioned that bondo, which is a car substance used to patch cracks and stuff, can make your foam practically indestructable. I know next to nothing about this, so if someone writes up a tuturial that I can link to, or a small instrutional paragraph about it, I'll add it here.
5) You can use latex paint (which, I believe, is what they use for painting houses) which can hold up strongly against spray can painting. (Spray can + ungesso'd/latex'd foam = melted foam) (Info Credit: DalaiLiam)
Feel free to PM me, e-mail or MSN me at
jademoonstone4@hotmail.com, or IM me at MikkouKoneko if you have any other questions!
