Working with Exterior Foam Coat
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Step-by-Step Progression of a Foam Coat ball
to be covered with tile. |
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First, a 6" round styrofoam shape was selected for the
"armature". Then Foam Coat was mixed to an oatmeal (on
the dry side) consistency. The Foam Coat was applied to the styro
ball with a spatula, pictured here, in as thin a layer as I could
make it because additional layers were to follow. |
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Next a fiberglass mesh layer was added for
strength. The mesh was cut into little pieces to better conform
to the roundness of the ball, and overlapped slightly. (Adding
fiberglass mesh in this manner is also recommended when using
Winterstone and AquaResin.) |
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I added the fiberglass pieces two or three at a time and then
covered them with thin layer of Foam Coat. During this process
care was taken to make sure there were no high or low areas,
and that the ball was nice and round.
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After the first layer of mesh was coated, I added one more
layer with mesh. I left it very thin so I could see the mesh
and be sure that the mesh covered the entire piece. I rolled
the ball around on a flat surface to further smooth it. At this
point the ball is ready to dry and then mosaic. The manufacturers
instructions (see below) state the "maximum
bond and hardness in 1 to 2 days."
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After one day of drying the Foam
Coat turned a lighter color. This 6in diameter ball with about
1/8in of foam coat and fiberglass mesh weighs exactly 1lb. (Exactly
1lb. I was impressed by this. I don't think I could have
made it exactly 1 lb if I was trying. Sadly, no one else in the
store thinks this is as amazing as I do.) Before adding mosaic
tile, make sure to brush off any loose dust and sand from the
surface of your piece. |
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This product is a cement-based foam coat and
works pretty easily. It differs from Winterstone in that Winterstone
is white and has a very low particle size. Therefore it is
more easily pigmented and stained as well as sculpted, finished
and smoothed . If you are coating a piece has little detail,
such as this ball, or are not concerned with finely sculpted
elements, this Foam Coat is a great material.
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We recommend (although the instructions do
not include it) reinforcing every foam coating. In an exterior
environment this helps prevent cracking. Reinforced indoor
pieces sustain less damage if dropped or hit. (The theory
being that a crack is easier to fix than a shattered piece.
If dropped on a hard surface, while it may crack even though
the piece is reinforced, it may break into pieces if not reinforced).
For cement based products such as Exterior Foam Coat and Winterstone,
use a reinforcement that is alkali resistant such as A/R fiberglass
mesh, A/R Fiberglass Matt and A/R Chopped Strand Fiberglass.
These can also be used with AquaResin, Magic-Sculp and Magic-Smooth.
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Last Updated 05/17/04 |
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