Web Sites w/ Foam Info For Tools, Techniques, Sources Etc..

[GPW]

Linux, Thanks for the info .... this glue sounds really Great !!!

Aluminum to foam ... That’s always been a question ... good to know which glue works for that !!!

[GPW]

Lights for Foamies ...found these on sale ... http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdet ... mail110311 Can’t beat the price ... i’m getting several for my foamie ...

[eaglesdare]

nice find.

[mezmo]

Hi All Foamlings/Foamanistas,

I came across this somehow and it has an interesting approach in trying
- and it appears, succeeding - to keep the foam and fabric and coatings
from delaminating. It is being done on/with surfboards

Their patented approach/process embeds fiberglass fibers into the foam
surface so they act like tree roots and then they epoxy and fiberglass cloth
[I'm assuming] those into the final surface. It supposedly gives it flexibility
and strength. The company's product is their process, and they then
apply it to various surfboard blanks that have been carved by others.

They can also adjust flexibility of the skin and the whole surfboard by way
of an air valve that lets them add and subtract air from within the
surfboard foam core!

The web site:

http://www.hydroflex-surfboards.com/hyd ... /index.php

A video from the site:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpCwDqzE ... r_embedded

So this all means we need to think of a way to accomplish this same
"tree Root effect" as we unit foam and glue and fabric. I know there was
some discussion of using some kind of perforating tool - aka mini spikes
on a roller - earlier on. wonder if there is a way to use that over the
first layer and thus it could punch some of the fabric threads into the foam
as well as the glue that is saturating it and then smoothing that again
with more glue once the perforating roller has done its work. Then that
would be followed by a second non-perforated fabric and glue layer.
[You could also try chopped fiberglass/epoxy perforated into the foam
then followed by a fiberglass cloth and epoxy layer later.]

Maybe one of those who are doing tests of various fabrics/glues etc.
could do a little experimenting with such and report back. [Unfortunately
I'm not in the position to do so myself at the moment.]

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

[mezmo]

Here's a more recent link for the Hot Wire Foam Factory [HWFF]. The one initially posted isn't necessarily direct anymore:

http://hotwirefoamfactory.com/Foam-Coat-Glue-Foam/

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

[mikeschn]

Wow!!! What a great test !!!

Now I don't know about the Thriftiness of the Foam Fusion , but just as an example I bought the 18 oz. GG and still have half of it left ... Wonder if they sell it by the gallon ... ?

Rosey, please check with me ... I may have found a way to buy the Foam boards much cheaper ...

Mel & GPW,

Tell me more about the foam fusion. Might it be better than titebond II or III to glue canvas to the EPS? Or is bubbling and expanding an issue?

Mike...

[linuxmanxxx]

Mike its pretty pricey due to it doesn't come in real volume and its intent is to glue foam to foam surfaces which was tested to be very strong. I'm still quite certain the lagging compound or a water based flexible glue would be the best longterm solution to apply the canvas. I'll grab a chunk of foam tonite and glue some cloth directly to it with wet 30nf and see how it does. Its a contact cement and supposed to do 2 surface coated bonding but can't see getting a canvas piece stuck correctly with flashed glue surfaces because when it sticks it is stuck and if you pull it loose you pretty much ruin the strength of it. If it works the beauty of it is that you can simply air gun spray it and lay the cloth really fast. There is a lot of discussion of this foam companies glues on several of these threads and people went to GG cause it was almost as strong and way cheaper.

[atahoekid]

Wow!!! What a great test !!!

Now I don't know about the Thriftiness of the Foam Fusion , but just as an example I bought the 18 oz. GG and still have half of it left ... Wonder if they sell it by the gallon ... ?

Rosey, please check with me ... I may have found a way to buy the Foam boards much cheaper ...

Mel & GPW,

Tell me more about the foam fusion. Might it be better than titebond II or III to glue canvas to the EPS? Or is bubbling and expanding an issue?

Mike...

I never did try it as an adhesive for foam to canvas. I may go ahead and do that since I should be able to do that one handed. I kinda stopped thinking about it after I decided to use epoxy as my foam glue. Based on the foam to foam tests, it certainly does hold promise. I'll get back to you after the New Year with the results

[mezmo]

Hi Mike/mikeschn,

Per the HotWireFoamfactory website:

The Fusion is for gluing foam sheets/pieces together. It is not intended
to be used in/like the TBII&III and fabric method the Foamie section is
exploring.

Rather:

The Foam Coat and Styroplast are for coating the foam to protect it and
provide a flexible or hard outer coating, depending on the mix and their
available additives. Both are available in larger sizes, not just hobbyist
sizes. The prices seem reasonable enough as well. They have tutorials
also available regarding the product application.

They offer a reinforcing mesh to go over the foam and under [i.e. coated
over by] the foam coat or Styroplast, analogous to our TBII&III and
fabric method.

The Foam Coat and Styroplast products need to be tested with/in our
fabric and coating method, or even with fiberglass screening mesh as the
reinforcing medium to see if that is viable.

Just on face value, it seems promising.

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

[mezmo]

Forum Member allan1 found another exterior coating possibility, as posted
in:

http://tnttt.com/viewto ... 2&start=30

today, 12/31/2011.

Here is a direct link to the company/product from his post:

http://www.polygem.com/zoo/armorstone.php

The Armorstone product needs more looking into for our purposes yet
to see if it is useful for us as an exterior coating/surface.

I just wanted to put it here for future inquiry. Don't have time to do so
at the moment.

Cheers,
norm/mezmo

[linuxmanxxx]

Norm I think the flexible products from the same company actually look more promising for doing the outside of a foamy.

http://www.polygem.com/zoo/flexct.php

[atahoekid]

I used the Foam Fusion to glue 4 samples of material to foam fusion and let it cure for 48 hours. Here is a pic of the results:


The Foam Fusion dries really clear as you can see but I don't think that's an evaluation criteria for anyone. I spread glue on the foam, placed the sample and then glued over the top of each sample. They are all stuck down really well. I was initially worried about the screen mesh but it is stuck well to the foam. The staple you see in the top corner was to hold it down since it wanted to curl up during the drying process. I think I would normally just use a toothpick or something similar. Trying to remove staples could be a major PITA. No apparent issues with the foam, no bubbles or foaming or anything negative apparent at this time. I've picked at the edges and corners of each sample and I can't get any to pull up. I must admit though the glue still feels a bit soft so I didn't really go after the edges or corners. I'm going to let it cure a bit longer and see if it changes anything.

I also used the "flexible" products from the HWFF to see how they adhere different materials to the foam. I did that this afternoon so they are still in the process of drying and curing. Also looks promising. The literature says full hardness after 24 hours so we'll take a look tomorrow.

I'm thinking that maybe the flexible "Foam Coat" with "Bounce" over the top of the Foam Fusion Glue might also work well. If there's enough flex in the glue the overcoat might just serve as a filler for the canvas or whatever material you decide to use. I think I may use the glue samples for further testing once I'm convinced we have adequate adhesion.

[bonnie]

To add a thought: This was in the FAQ section at the Hotwire site:

Q: I want to sandwich an aluminum piece inside two layers of hot-wire-cut foam, presumably with using the same adhesive (Foam Fusion?) for both the foam-foam and foam-metal bonds. No doubt the foam-metal bond won't be so great because Foam Fusion wasn't made for metal, but I'd sure appreciate it if you could please comment on just HOW poor the foam-metal bond will be, and what surface treatments I can give the metal to make the bond as good as possible.

A: I had a similar project a couple of years ago. I had made foam elements to go up on our new Hot Wire Foam Factory building which is metal. Since our Foam Fusion will only stick to porous surfaces, I made the mistake of using Liquid Nails, the one they make for EPS foam. Well, low and behold after a year the elements started falling off. There were holes wherever the Liquid Nails was applied. I had tested the Liquid Nails for two weeks before applying the final pieces and it slowly worked its way through the foam over the following months. I got to thinking about our Boost, a liquid Foam Coat fortifier. I have been using Boost with foam for several years and it does not dissolve the foam. I had used Boost, Foam Coat, and Coarse Grit to make a stucco coating for the metal sides of the building and it came out excellent. It doesn't peel or chip when the metal flexes. I hit a test piece with a hammer and it just dented it. It makes the Foam Coat stick like crazy to anything. If you don't rinse it off your metal drill paddle, you won't be able to even chip it off when it dries. So, can you guess what I am regluing the foam elements back to the building with? The Boost fortified Foam Coat is the best foam to metal glue that I think you will find. Later, I glued some smooth ABS plastic hangers to some 4ft x 7ft Foam Coated panels for an exterior wall mural using Boost fortified Foam Coat, and it also worked great. Another advantage is that you can make it pasty so it won't run off of vertical surfaces.

Opens up possiblities, yes?

[hwff]

Hello!

My name is Chelsea and I work at Hot Wire Foam Factory, a USA manufacturer of cutting tools, glues and coatings for polystyrene foam. Our company receives questions everyday about foam cutting and coating, so we thought we'd invite you to talk to us directly about using foam for your trailer applications.

We did an overhaul on our gallery in the middle of last year and all the links were changed, so the foam motorcycle trailer that was referenced in the beginning of this thread has been moved to:

http://hotwirefoamfactory.com/customer/ ... avel_a.htm

The page now includes some photos of the finished trailer!

If you have done any work with our tools or products, we'd invite you to submit your photos for inclusion in our gallery, too!

Looking forward to hearing from you!

[atahoekid]

Hello!

My name is Chelsea and I work at Hot Wire Foam Factory, a USA manufacturer of cutting tools, glues and coatings for polystyrene foam. Our company receives questions everyday about foam cutting and coating, so we thought we'd invite you to talk to us directly about using foam for your trailer applications.


Looking forward to hearing from you!

Chelsea,

From your base of knowledge, perhaps you can give us your opinion on the best application of your materials.

When we started making these "Foamies", our thought was the canvas and Titebond II glue would make a sock to give us some structural strength. Can we use your Foam Fusion and the mesh to do the same thing? Would it be better to skip the glue and use the Foam Coat to set the foam and mesh into a structural bond? Which additive is better for our application? Boost will ensure that the bond is strong and creates a tough coat, which is a desired trait when you consider the rocks and dings that a trailer is likely to be exposed to during it's lifetime. The Bounce will provide a more flexible coat, which is also desired when you consider the bouncing down the road a trailer must endure. Which is better for our application? Can you combine the two additives in the Foam Coat? Can we overlay one over the other? Which coat should be on top?

These are just a few of the questions I have... Bought your sample pack and have been playing with them, I'd like to get your thoughts. Thanks