painting pink foam insulation help please

[kidzarmorer]

I have some Pink insulation cutouts that are gonna
Be used outside , I was gonna gesso and spray paint
But would like suggestions to increase durability on a budget , Thanks guys.

 

[GotWookiee]

I use foam coat from http://hotwirefoamfactory.com. You can add chemistry to strengthen and/or rubberize it.

 

[kidzarmorer]

Thanks for the link Gotwookiee ,I will be looking at
That for my use but this project was dropped on
Me by my wifes boss and needs to be Done by Monday
Morning. It's letters and firearm silhouettes for the
Gun shop. So I'm gonna have to go the lowes route
For supplies. Gesso from Walmart n then paint . Thanks again .

 

[exoray]

How long does it need to last?

If it's only temporary, get some GOOD exterior latex primer, I suggest Bulls Eye 1-2-3 by Zinsser.

Give the foam an initial coat with just the primer to seal it down, and provide 'bite' for the next layer... Next pour some of the primer out into a bucket and mix in some pre-mixed spackling compound the amount you mix in will be determined by how much detail you need to preserve in the final piece, I would start with a small batch of 50/50 and go from there, if you use a small roller to apply you can get a nice uniform slightly bumpy surface... The spackle will make the paint much harder so you will get a hard shell on the foam... Now you can primer it again or go right to the final paint and coating from that point, make sure you seal down the primer/spackle coat with another coat of paint so water doesn't leach into any exposed plaster on the surface...

This is only for a temp display, not one that is expected to last for long in rain and humidity...

 

[kidzarmorer]

It's supposed to be outside . All the time. On the side of
A business . They bought the shapes but didn't have them
Finished. So I get the fun. No detail just silhouettes

 

[thegreatgalling]

I am with Exoray on the latex based paint. I would imagine some water-proofing paint they use on exterior sheet rock to seal it would work nicely.

 

[exoray]

It's supposed to be outside . All the time. On the side of
A business . They bought the shapes but didn't have them
Finished. So I get the fun. No detail just silhouettes

If it's for full time outside then, the best option is an EPOXY (not polyester) based fiberglass skin, or a resin based foam sealer (can't recommend any of them off hand)...

If you want or don't mind the look of stone, you can use portland cement, some fine sand and burlap, basically doing a fiberglass like skin with cement/burlap vs resin/fiberglass...

You can try this stuff Steve's Coating for Styrofoam

And you could go with polyester based fiberglass but you will need to prime the foam real well as the styrene in the polyester will vaporize the foam...

 

[kidzarmorer]

They just called and said cheap as possible. So Im gonna just prime it
A couple times n paint it. Thanks guys ,some people don't want it
Right . Just right now.

 

[azheat01]

Use Elmer's glue to coat it, that's how I coated my kids playroom television tree and it worked great for my Han in Carbonite. A few coats of that will be great. I have a new found respect for Elmer's glue!

 

[kidzarmorer]

May try the glue. I have 2 gallons of it. Don't ask why.

 

[exoray]

May try the glue. I have 2 gallons of it. Don't ask why.

Just make sure you seal it with exterior paint, generic white PVA glue is not weather or even water resistant, but it will make a good base coat...

 

[kidzarmorer]

That's the plan. Thanks.