[SML] Dissolving foam

[Richard Niederberg]

I remember using some carefully bent Nichrome wire to produce
high-relief molding. The smell was very unpleasant even when cutting far
outside the shop.
/s/ Richard

On Sun, Sep 23, 2018 at 1:50 PM Paul G. via Stagecraft <
stagecraft at theatrical.net> wrote:

> I have etched, engraved, and otherwise messed with more “Styrofoam” than I
> care to remember. Mostly my experience has been with white “bead foam”
> (expanded polyethylene?). The biggest issue I faced was control. I found
> that when using a solvent (lacquer thinner was my first choice), I had
> almost no control over the depth of the cut... some, but not much. I had
> the most depth control using a heat gun, following that, a propane torch.
> If I needed a “flat bottom” cut, like for your gravestone lettering, I
> would opt for a router.
>
> As far as resists for the solvent technique, I found that dry latex paint
> was quite effective.. it was also pretty good for heat guns and torches. If
> I needed to treat the surrounding areas with solvent etching after heat gun
> work, I would use plain water as the resist.
>
> All this having been said, you pretty much have to play with the stuff to
> get the look you want.
>
> Someone mentioned using an electric charcoal fire starter to engrave the
> foam. They work really well for making mortar lines in brickwork. You can
> also make wire shapes for carving using a high wattage soldering iron. I
> remember “extruding” molding using a stick welder attached to a profile
> made from a piece of electrician’s fish tape bent into the appropriate
> shape.
>
> Laters,
>
> Paul 1
>
> Sent from my iPad
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-- 
/s/ Richard
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