painting foam

[mark c]

what will stick to the foam ive tryed but it seem to peel off    do you coat with something first?  mark c

[Shaggy]

When I sprayed for rocks or making any other habitat you need to make sure that you have rasped or sanded all of the release (or outer coating) off of the foam before you doing anything to it.  Then seal it afterward.

[mark c]

sorry should have said the queston better   i used the can stuff from home depot and made some sandy looking uneven dirt than i tryed to paint looked good for a couple of days and the it started to flake off big time    i really liked the look it gave me but i need to know how to make it say put  hope that helps explan better  mark c

[LynchMan]

wether its the stuff from the depot or 2 part foam you still have to get all of the release agent off ,the shiny stuff like shaggy said. than you can glue done your dirt or sand and paint.

[bill@hogheaven]

Try a couple coats of Krylon matte finish. Though I never had much luck painting foam. Its better to precolor it with tempera or coat it with plaster or rock mix that will accept paint.

[mark c]

thanks russ hope to try this weekend markc

[Lisa M]

Using a lacquer base paint will eat many foams...sometimes, depending on IF you want it to, it can make some really interesting formations in the foam.  Just be sure you do it outside with LOTS of ventilation because the fumes are noxious.    I have some old water based paints that got clumpy from sitting around too long...like Apple Barrel or Delta craft paints...if you use them for rocks, you save $ and get rid of old paint.    When you're rasping the form, be sure you don't get any of the little yellow floaty bits in your eyes.  Hurts like a SOB and can scratch your cornea.

[George Roof]

Your first mistake is to buy that canned foam crap for anything in taxidermy.  That is not the same as the 2 part.  It is catalyzed by air contact (like Gorilla Glue is to water) and it continues to expand for weeks afterwards.  On REAL FOAM, you can paint it with latex or acrylic paint.  In fact, the McKenzie wall-log is cast foam that HAS to be painted with latex and stained.  If you look at the log I built in a tutorial some time back, you see it was made from PVC and regular 2 part foam.  Stay away from that canned crap.

[mark c]

George   it a lession learned   you 100% rite so im ordering the 2 part from Mc Kenzie this week im either going to get wight or send alot of time getting disapointed  thats why you ask the question and i thank you for the answers mark c