Question: Painting pink foam

Thought someone with more experience would have answered but--

If you can get the foam shaped to your satisfaction you don't need plaster cloth. Some folks use a material like Sculptamold or caulking compound on the foam to smooth the contours out. Latex is fine for painting the foam, solvent based paints will eat it.

I used pink foam and as my work on the layout is progressing slowly for now I've done some rough contouring of the foam and a coat of a tan latex, huge improvement over the pink color and looks OK until I make more progress but wiring and etc takes priority.

Scotie

Howdy,

 

I've painted directly over my Pink foam using Latex Paint with no adverse effects.  Use the cheapest  paint you can get your hands on because you're gonna cover it with various ground cover.  I'm guessing the "Purple" Foam is like the "Pink" and "Blue" Foam and will not play well with any solvent based paints and/or adhesives.   Water Based = Good.   Solvent Based = Bad.   Good Luck and ENJOY!

 

Chief Bob (Retired)

Many thanks fellas for the replies.

This has come up before...

 

My recommendation is a coat of Woodland Scenics Flex Paste, sku# C1205, on the surface of the foam.  It provides a hard surface that is essentially benign to further painting...latex, enamels, plaster, etc., and scenic work. 

 

Flex Paste link

 

Scroll down on the above link and you'll find a short 30-second video demonstrating/discussing Flex Paste.

 

The other choice, as you've indicated, is to cover the area with some sort of plaster....plaster cloth, Sculptamold, etc...before painting.  Plaster can be pre-colored with a variety of materials, or purchased pre-colored in different shades of earthy colors.

 

FWIW, always...

 

KD

I just "paint" over mine with Hydrocal directly using a disposable brush and a somewhat thinner than usual mix of the Hydrocal.  Once that's in place, I can stain, tint, paint, whatever on that hardshell over foam surface.

A couple of aging pieces of fabrication. There are (4) fabricated foam pieces that complete this 16ft/ two module diorama. Note the warp at the bottom of the pieces, it uses to blend in well to the modules.   We have noted that there is shrinkage over time, we added a 1/4" luan base and screw it down to the modules.  Different paints will affect the foam. Surprisingly Testors acrylics seemed to eat away at the foam. I was doing touch-up, and quickly noted the deterioration. Generic Hardware store Latex seems to work best.  

More recent construction.

 

 

As they have shown, latex is fine. Just remember to remove that film layer, especially if your guest help doesn't know it is there.

what "film layer" i never noticed that and no one has mentioned it up to this point?  thanks

Some... like the blue foam have a protective plastic layer which needs to be peeled off prior to painting/working.  I use 1/2 inch green, 1 inch blue and 2" pink.  Of those three, I have only seen the plastic coating on one side of the blue.

 

I use cheap house paint on all my foam.  The best paint is the ooops paint from HD or Lowes.  EVERY visit to those stores requires a stop at the paint desk to look for desired earth colors or whatever I need.  I routinely buy samples, quarts and even gallons anywhere from .50 cents to $5.

 

Good Luck!

Ron

 

The plastic film is very thin and a PIA to peal off.  I'm not sure if all foam has it.  I used Blue, Pink and Green Foam boards depending on where I shoped.  I covered all of my flat surfaces with a self stick mesh, same stuff the dry wall tape is made from except it came in a 36" wide roll and didn't fool with pealing the film off.  Then I covered it with a skim coat of Strucolite.  Then I painted it with some oop's paint from Home depot to seal it.  Arears that were carved I just painted.  I read where you can use some sand paper to scuff the surface before you paint it.

Latex and acrylic paint for me.  Works good.

I'm firmly in the latex-paint-works-well-and-is benign camp: done it odten, and it never has been a problem.  I have never tried oil-based paints, though.  My sense is they might eat at the foam, etc.  Latex works well.  

Latex paint will work directly on the Styrofoam.

I cover with paper towels and plaster then paint with latex wall paint

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This is heresy, but I sometimes intentionally apply a very light mist of solvent-based spray paint to foam. The purpose is to give the look of old stone and especially concrete, by simulating erosion and other damage the occurs over time.  Here are a couple of examples:

 

Latex paint is fine. It's water-based and won't attack the foam.

Many thanks for all the replies and suggestions.  In particular my question about the possibility of warping has been answered.  I have read several other threads on this topic, but they are old enough that they did not permit follow up posts.   I will proceed accordingly.  Cheers. 

Both the Pink (Home Depot) and the Blue (Lowes) we've used have had a thin film on one side that required removal for glue or paint adhesion.

Primary application of foam board is as an applied additional insulation to structures. Some foam boards will include a non-permeable vapor barrier, to be installed facing the living space. The plastic film. Many, many moons ago, when I built my home, the applied insulating sheets/panels had aluminum foil faces as the vapor barrier.