Open Forum

  • 1.  Glueing Pink Foam Insulation

    Posted 10-06-2014 08:43
    This message has been cross posted to the following Discussions: Prop, Costume and Set Sharing MEMBERS ONLY and Open Forum .
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    We are using 2" pink foam insulation board to build Greased Lightnin' for our production of Grease. How can you glue pieces of the foam together safely, without toxic fumes?


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    John Perry
    Drama Instructor
    Atherton High School
    Louisville KY
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  • 2.  RE: Glueing Pink Foam Insulation

    Posted 10-06-2014 10:01
    Sorry, that should be Gluing

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    John Perry
    Drama Instructor
    Atherton High School
    Louisville KY
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  • 3.  RE: Glueing Pink Foam Insulation

    Posted 10-06-2014 10:06
    Liquid Nails: be sure to get the one that glues foam.  

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    Valerie Scott
    Duluth GA
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  • 4.  RE: Glueing Pink Foam Insulation

    Posted 10-07-2014 07:44
    Also, be sure to peel the plastic laminate from the foam prior to cutting/painting gluing. This will allow you to connect it with hot (not high heat!) glue for smaller pieces and keep the paint from flaking off.

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    Tommy Cox
    Bowdon GA
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  • 5.  RE: Glueing Pink Foam Insulation

    Posted 10-07-2014 07:27
    You can glue it together with almost anything. The key is to make sure you actually clamp it/ weigh it down while it dries. Depending on what you hope the outcome is you can use liquid nails, wood glue, and even foam insulation spray or panel foam adhesive to join pieces together. Foam itself IS toxic as you shape it so you need to wear masks to work with it and I suggest working outside or in a well ventilated space.

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    Victoria Kesling Councill
    Theatre Teacher
    New Kent County Public Schools
    New Kent VA
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  • 6.  RE: Glueing Pink Foam Insulation

    Posted 10-07-2014 07:32
    Liquid nails makes some products for a caulk gun which do not have fumes. Any hardware store should carry it. ------------------------------------------- Scott Hasbrouck Wheat Ridge CO -------------------------------------------
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  • 7.  RE: Glueing Pink Foam Insulation

    Posted 10-07-2014 07:32
    Foam board can be glued together with a water soluble contact cement; however, I have not had great luck with that technique.  Found the best way for me is to use expandable foam in a can like Great Stuff.  Make sure to remove the plastic film that covers the foam if it is on there; then, spray and spread the Great Stuff on the foam board using a scrap of luan or cardboard and put the two pieces together.  Use a piece of 4 x 8 plywood and some weights or paint cans to keep the foam boards together.  Allow to cure for 24 hours.  You can also use 3" drywall screws to keep things together while the foam cures.  And-- roughing up the sides to be adhered a bit with sand paper or a Sure-Form tool helps a bit.  AND-- I would wear a respirator and work outside.  When carving the foam, I would also wear a respirator.

    You might also look into ordering the thickness of foam you need; although, I've found that to be sort of pricey.

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    Michael Johnson
    Trinity NC
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  • 8.  RE: Glueing Pink Foam Insulation

    Posted 10-08-2014 13:41
    We use a product called Foam-Lock, and I get it where I buy the foam.  Works great and won't release toxic fumes like other adhesives.  And of course, Clamp it!

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    John Morris
    Las Vegas NV
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  • 9.  RE: Glueing Pink Foam Insulation

    Posted 10-09-2014 16:18
    PL300 comes in caulking tube. it's a foamboard adhesive and can be bought at Menards, Home Depot or Lowes.

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    Victor Pilolla
    River Grove IL
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  • 10.  RE: Glueing Pink Foam Insulation

    Posted 10-09-2014 00:55
    Step back and listen to our collective selves . . . "2" pink foam insulation board" "toxic fumes".  Why are we utilizing materials that are known to be flammable and toxic?  Have you burn-tested this material?  Have you seen the thick black TOXIC smoke that it produces when it burns?  Do you realize how fast that smoke can fill a room and suffocate people?

    Excerpt taken directly from the Owens Corning Foamular 250 Extruded Polystyrene (XPS) Rigid Foam Insulation data sheet: "This product is combustible. A protective barrier or thermal barrier is required as specified in the appropriate building code."  This is also printed right on the face of the product.

    Excerpt from Wikipedia about Polystyrene: "Like other organic compounds, polystyrene is flammable. Polystyrene is classified according to DIN4102 as a "B3" product, meaning highly flammable or "Easily Ignited." As a consequence, although it is an efficient insulator at low temperatures, its use is prohibited in any exposed installations in building construction if the material is not flame-retardant. It must be concealed behind drywall, sheet metal, or concrete. Foamed polystyrene plastic materials have been accidentally ignited and caused huge fires and losses, for example at the Düsseldorf International Airport, the Channel tunnel (where polystyrene was inside a railcar that caught fire), and the Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant [56] (where fire breached a fire retardant and reached the foamed plastic underneath, inside a firestop that had not been tested and certified in accordance with the final installation)."

    Please find a better, safer, way to fabricate scenery and props.  The convenience does not outweigh the danger.  Also of concern is that the NFPA 101 Life Safety Code (13.4.5.11) requires that any foamed plastics be treated with fire retardants to prevent the ignition of stage scenery.  This is not an optional regulation, and theatres are not exempt - it is written specifically for theatres.  Have you budgeted time and materials for this?

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    Erich Friend
    Theatre Consultant
    Teqniqal Systems
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