Getting ready to do some scenery and I am thinking about using styrofoam from packaging boxes. Are there there any safety concerns I should be aware of before I start using this stuff? None of it will be used under track, but I do plan to have lighted buildings on this stuff. Thanks for the input
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Go to this web site "http://building.dow.com/search.aspx?q=styrofoam%20msds" is contains all of the Material Safety Data Sheets for Dow products. This will give you the affects temperature and time have on the product as well as other possible gas release issues if exposed to other chemicals. Search for MSDS and what ever material you are concerned with and you'll find answers. Hope this helps!
Not sure about the documented health risks regarding "packaging" foam but I do know that I tried using a hot knife on the same type stuff to create some rock walls and the smell was bad enough for me to decide that it could not be good for me and quit the project!
I wouldn't recommend packing foam. I have always used Extruded Polystyrene--available in sheet form at home improvement stores--and it is really all I can and would recommend for scenery building if going the foam route.
Plan on using LEDs everywhere you can. Once you start using them that is all you will want to use.
if you want to know what static cling is, try the white beady stuff! you will spend 3/4 of your time TRYING to get the little white beads off your arms, the floor, everything within 10 feet of where you are working will be covered! It should not take you long to realize why it was free and lots of it! Put whatever you have in the trash, make a bee line to your nearest home improvement store, buy a couple of sheets of blue or pink 4 x 8's in 1/2 inches and 3/4 inch. For me, this is one of those "been there, done that things"! oh, Woodland Scenic makes a great long blade to cut the foam. Blades ain't cheap, don't last all that long and they will cut YOU even when dull. But they work! But hey, what do I know?
if you want to know what static cling is, try the white beady stuff! you will spend 3/4 of your time TRYING to get the little white beads off your arms, the floor, everything within 10 feet of where you are working will be covered!
I long ago gave up using styrofoam at all because of this. I also just don't use much foam at all. Not so much the concern about chemicals when working withit, although I have thoughts about toxicity it might have in a housefire. Mostly, I just work in other ways with other materials. I've seen some good stuff made with foam and no people who swear by it, rather than like me, at it!
At Home Depot the Pink stuff is available in thickness up to 2" up here in the north.
I'm going with 2 layers of the 1.5" as it's more readily available.
I wait till Monday and get the ones that are damaged for half price too.
What do I care if the tab for the side by side joint is broken? I'm not laying them side by side anyway.
And yes, Avoid the white stuff at all costs, it's not worth the hassle.
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