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Articles
How to coat EPS foam (Crown Moldings)
How to build an EPS Foam Recycler
How is EPS manufactured - molded
How to make RC foam planes
How to cut EPS, XPS, EPP foam
How to cut Polyurethane foam ( PU )
How to cut Acrylics - Laser cutting
What is - more info about foam
What is EPS foam
What is XPS foam
What is EPP foam - Expanded Polypropylene
What is PE foam - Polyethylene foam
What is Polyurethane foam
What is Memory Foam
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How to coat EPS foam
Searching the web for information on how to coat EPS foam mainly for crown
molding resulted in almost NOTHING.
So I decided to share my experience with everyone.
Coating foam with cement is usually used in the building industry, crowns, crown
moldings and other shapes
need to be coated in order for the stucco to adhere to the cement coat, and
provide strength to the parts.
1st step is to acquire a bag of "foam tite" this material is very similar to
regular cement but has some glue additive
to help it to stick to the foam. Mix the correct amount of water as directed on
the bag.

2nd step is to place the foam on a flat surface - in this example we took an old
table, for best results, cover the table
plastic bags, that way cleaning up is much simpler.

3rd step: cover the foam with some kind of mesh, in this example we used a
regular fiberglass mesh that can be
found in HomeDepot. The mesh that we used has a self adhesive glue, so it will
stick to the EPS foam.
There are different meshes out there and some do not have the glue, if you use
the mesh without the glue, you will
need to glue the mesh to the foam, this can be done with 77 Glue from 3M



Try to keep the mash as tight as possible and as smooth as possible avoiding air
bubbles.
It is also good to buy "virgin foam" not recycled foam. Recycled foam can cause
vibration on the wire which will show
up on the foam as lines across the foam. Need "virgin" foam ?
Click here

Next step is to coat the foam with the "foam tight" - simply take a handfull of
the material and cover the foam (by hand)



The next step is to remove all the excess material. In this example we made a
template that is about 1/8" larger then
the size of the part we are covering


Move the template all the way to get an even coat on the foam.

Let dry the 24 hours and apply a 2nd coat if needed.
Looks simple and it is, but be prepared for a short "learning curve" over time
you will see that its just a matter if
experience, the more you do it the faster and smoother the parts will be.
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