When working w/ Styrofoam do you:

1. Seal it somehow so the celluclay doesn't mess with it?

2. How do you clue two pieces together? What type of glue?

I am wondering, so I can start carving and make a slight incline for a upcoming dio.

Thanks!

~CHip :-)

I have used Stryoform/Polystyrene in some of my dio's and I do not seal it before I add plaster and have had no problems, as for Celluclay I couldn't say as I have never used it.
For the glue I used wood/white PVA glue. When using a glue test it on some scrap first as some glues dissolve the polystyrene, which is quite frustrating after you have measured, cut and sculptured it.
Regards
Robbo

I've never had any problem adding celluclay to styrofoam. Add a nice layer of white glue to help hold it down.
I use a hot glue to hold styrfoam together and down. Just the $2 glue gun from Michaels.

Chip

I use a lot of Styrofoam in my dio`s and I also never seal it before adding the Spackle. I can`t say how Celluclay affects or works on Styrofoam as I have never used it before. I even think I can`t get it here in Holland. As I mentioned above I use wallspackle for my ground layer.
For Glueing my Styrofoam I use Normal White glue wich works good no problems with affecting the styrofoam.

elemers glue works the best.
after the glue drys u cant even brake the bond

I'll try to answer your questions in order:

1. You don't need to seal it. Celluclay does not contain a "hot" glue, so it won't chemically melt the styrofoam.

2. I use either white/wood glue, or a low temperature glue gun.

I usually build the landscape up roghfly wiht styrofoam. Carving and layering.
Then I cover the styrofoam with plaster bandage. This smothen out the contours and you wont be needing so much Celluclay and it dries faster as the styrofoam wont be containg the water and thick layers arent needed.

Hope this helps.

For glueing .... I use hot glue as its quicker but if you want a good strong bond and have the time to let it rest .. use white glue. Add some weight so it takes better. When you are adding stuff to it add some white glue into as well, just to be sure it sticks. Sometimes if the layer of spackel is thin ... it can crack and lift off in big chunks!
If your styrofoam is completely covered ..... paint as you will, but if some is exposed .... paint only with acrylics. Enamels and thinners will eat it away!

Thanks guys! I guess I will have to go and get some styrofoam out of my friends garage. We stole a whole bunch from school! But Shhh!

The school staff will never know its part of my dio. Actually we were going to make napalm w/ it but never got around to it.

~Chip :-)

The only reason I can see you would "seal" the styrofoam is to smooth out the texture of the surface. I use diluted plaster of paris or other similar stucco to do this. Once it dries, you can sand (if desired for a smooth finish) or use the natural "grain" of the plaster to enhance your drybrushing highlights.

Could I "seal" it with white glue and water mixed?

~chip :-)

Chip - why do you need to seal the stryofoam?

I wouldn't seal with water and glue. The texture of the dryed white glue will not allow you to do any sanding or sculpting. I'd run to your DIY and get a $2 tub (enought for about 2-3 dio's depending on size) of spackle ( )and cover the styrofoam.

That's what I did in my Splash diorama in my gallery.

Alright, thanks Slodder.

I tell ya, I never could of done it without you guys!

Thanks!

~Chip :-)

i know it may seems a litle silly but...what exactly do you meanby styrofoam ? i mean a have a clue but there is not an exact translation in Greek, so if you would like give me an explanation of the material, how it looks and were is generally used to see if this is the same stuff i use here or saomething else.
Thanks a lot

Styrofoam's a brand name, actually... It just gets applied to anything and everything made from similar material.

I'm pretty sure what we're talking about here is Styrofoam insulation. It's blue or pink, and it comes in 4 foot by 8 foot sheets from about 1/2 to 2 inches thick. It's used for insulation inside the walls of houses.

You can probably find it in a decent hardware store, with the building supplies. It's cheap - about $6 Canadian for a 3/4 inch thick sheet that'll last you quite a while.

Major Goose,

When you buy a computer, the white stuff that fits snugly around the computer in the box, to prevent it from being damaged when dropped. That also is styrofoam.

~Chip :-)

Aha so its the blue sheet of stuff that i used to insulate my houses walls.We call it here roofmate or wallmate and also comes out in pink and light blue and the usual thickness is 5 cm and 2,5 cm.Its cutted with a knife and a saw propably . I believe u use it for base material in constructin a diorama cause its light nad easy to use.Thanks for the info

my answer to all your questions.

http://www.4drywall.com/Omega.htm

Styrobond glue is almost stronger than Styrofoam itself and will adhear to almost anything. I am a sculpter and i've sculpted over 2000 styrofoam sculpters. I prever this glue over anything.
good luck fellow artists.
put bold text here

Another good source of polystyrene is the trays meat and veg comes in, from the supermarket!. FREEBIES!!!Different size of trays come in different thicknesses and are usually nice and flat. I used to use these a lot for building up areas. Now i jsu usethem to cast flat panels of hardwall to carve walls from.
Buy alow temp hot glue gun. Cheap and very very fast comparing to waiting for white glue to dry!

careefull when using hot glue, if its to hot, it will jsut melt ur styrofoam
you can cut it with different kinds of x-acto's and just cover it with plaster so its smooth

Frank