[SML] Dissolving foam

[Dan Sheehan]

Heat could be effective, not sure about masking the lettering,
 maybe with foil tape made for HVAC work ?
Have done simulated stone-wall type stuff this way.
Little propane torch, surprisingly easy to control,
and surprisingly difficult to light the piece on fire
(but of course Be Prepared)
Or a hairdryer-type heat gun.
.......
year ago, a guy built a cast-iron kitchen stove
sculpted out of foam...
looked great until he spray-painted it black...
OOPS
 it did what You want, not what HE wanted !

On Thu, Sep 20, 2018 at 9:25 AM Joe Dunfee via Stagecraft <
stagecraft at theatrical.net> wrote:

> I am making some Tombstones for "Tilly" based on the book by Peretti.
> This will include both modern and some older ones.
>
> My plan it to use the etching approach, where the lettering is cut out
> of a wide piece of painter's tape, and that is used as a mask for the
> etching.  I came across one tutorial on the Internet that used Spray
> Paint, but I can't find it again.  Specifically, I wanted to know the
> kinds of ingredients to look for on the can, to know it will etch.
>
> I experimented a bit on my own, and tried various solvents on a small
> piece of the blue colored polystyrene available in the big-box hardware
> stores.  I was quite surprised to see that Acetone and Naphtha did
> nothing to the foam.  Though, M.E.K worked quite aggressively.
>
> I am wondering if the foam had a coating, or even if the manufacturer
> may have added something to reduce flammable a bit, and those things
> somehow protected the foam from the Acetone.
>
> I used a small $1 spray bottle,  but found that it was difficult to
> control the depth of the etch. I do recall, many years ago, using spray
> paint on foam, and it etched in a much more controllable way.
>
>
> Decades ago, it was difficult to find spray paint that didn't dissolve
> polystyrene. Now there are  many that will not dissolve Styrofoam.  Are
> "petroleum distillates" the right stuff to look for?
>
> --
> -Joe Dunfee
> 717-203-8670 Cell
>
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-- 
...Dan Sheehan
Fixer of things that break
TD Walpole (MA) Footlighters
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