I made a cave out of that stuff that survived about 5 years underwater. I did coat that with sanded tile grout, I'm not sure i've ever just had the foam in my tank because it floats.
3D foam background
- Thread starter FSM
- Start date
kallmond;3775434; said:
I've only heard of this stuff coated with concrete or something like that for the same reason. Never heard of tile grout, but good color options there.
Grout was nice, easier to work with than concrete, and yea, the color options were great. I bought black tint separately, and was able to make 4 or 5 different shades of gray to 'paint' the cave. I wish I had pictures from back then, it was before the digital era though, around the turn of the century...
It will be coated in drylok, which is latex based waterproofing paint.
I applied the foam stuff yesterday. I ran out before I had done as much as I wanted, but oh well.
The first can that I planned to use turned out to be 4 years past the expiration date.
I applied the foam stuff yesterday. I ran out before I had done as much as I wanted, but oh well.
The first can that I planned to use turned out to be 4 years past the expiration date.
Sucks about the date code. Did you try it? did it expand at all? I made a brick pond at my moms and sealed that with drylock, that stuff is amazing.
Are you going to silicone the background to the tank?
Are you going to silicone the background to the tank?
Foam added and I'm working on painting it
So far I have used
8'x4'x.5" sheet of polystyrene: $10
half a quart of drylok : $8 per quart
Quickrete cement coloring (2 colors, enough to color a few gallons of paint), $9 for 2 bottles
great stuff: $4
hot glue
$31 total
Drylock is cheaper by the gallon though ($20), and the cement pigment will last forever.
So far I have used
8'x4'x.5" sheet of polystyrene: $10
half a quart of drylok : $8 per quart
Quickrete cement coloring (2 colors, enough to color a few gallons of paint), $9 for 2 bottles
great stuff: $4
hot glue
$31 total
Drylock is cheaper by the gallon though ($20), and the cement pigment will last forever.
It's pretty basic.
I cut the design out of the sheet foam with a razor blade and then glue it together with hot glue. The foam doesn't need to be sliced completely through, just a thin cut works, because it will follow the design that has been cut when bent apart.
Then I rounded the edges off with the razor. (I'm using a paint scraper razor, but a utility knife would work just as well)
The foam requires slightly more skill. In hindsight, I wish I had gotten the 3x expanding type (Lowes only has regular, didn't go to HD) and should have coated the branches in foam.
The paint is the consistency of regular paint, maybe slightly thicker.
I guess it depends on how artistic you are, but I'd rate it about a 4 or 5 for difficulty.
I cut the design out of the sheet foam with a razor blade and then glue it together with hot glue. The foam doesn't need to be sliced completely through, just a thin cut works, because it will follow the design that has been cut when bent apart.
Then I rounded the edges off with the razor. (I'm using a paint scraper razor, but a utility knife would work just as well)
The foam requires slightly more skill. In hindsight, I wish I had gotten the 3x expanding type (Lowes only has regular, didn't go to HD) and should have coated the branches in foam.
The paint is the consistency of regular paint, maybe slightly thicker.
I guess it depends on how artistic you are, but I'd rate it about a 4 or 5 for difficulty.
FSM;3785336; said:
So the foam you used only expanded side to side? What do you look for on the can that tells you it expands in all directions?
