Painting Builder's Foam

[kat57]

Styrofoam sculptures? That sounds cool!

[havanaholly]

Speaking of Lloyd's sculptures, how's the papermache one coming along? And that's what I figured the hot knife was for.

[KathieB]

Speaking of Lloyd's sculptures, how's the papermache one coming along? And that's what I figured the hot knife was for.

It's in New Orleans, awaiting his return.

[Selkie]

You can use a hot knife or a hot wire to cut it. Styrofoam is what tons of items are made out of for movie sets. It's lightweight and easy to sculpt and design into just about anything. Back when I was in art school (as a grownup), we used an earlier form of the blue and pink that is available today.

The only thing I didn't like was the fumes it produced if you used the hot wire or hot knife. I still have a hot knife. It makes lovely smooth areas too as it melts the foam. A serrated regular knife or and old electric knife can also be used. It's sandable and you can use plaster tape (think casts) on it to add sculptural details to it.

It's lots of fun to play with.

[otterine]

Hmm...wonder why yours didn't have a film, Jeffrey.

I used a big old carving (kitchen) knife on it, too.

[sparklepuppies]

The 2x2 squares I got from Home Depot didn't have that film either. We used box cutters, xacto knives, a little saw, and also I think a steak knife to cut. That made the best base for our project, we could "plant" everything right in it!

I can't find what we got online to share a link though. I'm going there tomorrow though, if I remember I can take a picture.