View Full Version : polystyrene what should I use to stick?
dullbird
24th April 2012, 07:03 PM
Hi Guys and gals
I'm playing with a little project...
I'm making a target (for a dart gun not bullets) and it si in shape of a goat.
but rather than just having a peice of wood with some suitable material to catch the darts in the correct areas I have decided to see if I can get it a little more 3D
I have heaps of polystyrene here left over from packaging and stuff and I'm thinking of putting this on my goat cut out and shapping it to look a little bit more like a body and legs and stuff...
my question is because I have various pieces, what would be the best thing to stick the polystyrene to the wood and of course pieces of polystyrene to each other to build areas up ready to shape???
I know that polystyrene is not the most durable of materials if your going to shoot at it as it can fall apart easily however I do know you can coat it in a watery mixture of cement as people in aquariums do this for fake backgrounds etc.. was thinking of doing this just for a bit of durability before covering in material...
to those thinking of replying this is just a bit of project fun to see if I can pull it off and I only have 50bux to do it so no stupid suggestions of what I should be using including ballistics gel and real goats:D
the plan
1. draw goat shape - done
2. cut out
3. cover in polystyrene and then cut and file in to shapes to imitate body shape as best as possible
4. cover in something for durability
5. make areas where darts a re likely to hit out of appropriate material (thinking of those rubbery matts that people put down in boats and stuff that fix together like a jigsaw puzzle)
6. cover in material
7. attach something to back to allow it to stand on its own fairly stable
8. paint areas if needed
ramblingboy42
24th April 2012, 07:11 PM
ummm....does polystyrene glue glue polystyrene?
p38arover
24th April 2012, 07:19 PM
ummm....does polystyrene glue glue polystyrene?
Yes but not polystyrene foam which will dissolve.
Try contact cement (impact adhesive in UK-speak)
I used to use that to glue veneer onto polystyrene foam cores to make model aircraft wings.
Don't be too heavy handed with the contact cement as it might dissolve the foam. Try it on scrap.
V8Ian
24th April 2012, 07:30 PM
Hi Guys and gals
I'm playing with a little project...
I'm making a target (for a dart gun not bullets) and it si in shape of a goat.
but rather than just having a peice of wood with some suitable material to catch the darts in the correct areas I have decided to see if I can get it a little more 3D
I have heaps of polystyrene here left over from packaging and stuff and I'm thinking of putting this on my goat cut out and shapping it to look a little bit more like a body and legs and stuff...
my question is because I have various pieces, what would be the best thing to stick the polystyrene to the wood and of course pieces of polystyrene to each other to build areas up ready to shape???
I know that polystyrene is not the most durable of materials if your going to shoot at it as it can fall apart easily however I do know you can coat it in a watery mixture of cement as people in aquariums do this for fake backgrounds etc.. was thinking of doing this just for a bit of durability before covering in material...
to those thinking of replying this is just a bit of project fun to see if I can pull it off and I only have 50bux to do it so no stupid suggestions of what I should be using including ballistics gel and real goats:D
the plan
1. draw goat shape - done
2. cut out
3. cover in polystyrene and then cut and file in to shapes to imitate body shape as best as possible
4. cover in something for durability
5. make areas where darts a re likely to hit out of appropriate material (thinking of those rubbery matts that people put down in boats and stuff that fix together like a jigsaw puzzle)
6. cover in material
7. attach something to back to allow it to stand on its own fairly stable
8. paint areas if needed
Bugger, pre-empted again. :p............................as for the glue, PVC wood/craft glue, it's cheaper than coke. :BigThumb:
p38arover
24th April 2012, 07:35 PM
Bugger, pre-empted again. :p............................as for the glue, PVC wood/craft glue, it's cheaper than coke. :BigThumb:
Agreed, wood glue is also good (PVA, though :angel: ). It takes a bit longer to dry. I had original written that but got side-tracked and accidentally deleted the post before submitting it.
My next door neighbour (from my flying days) used to make a lot of foam signs and displays in his job in marketing for Sanyo and he used PVA almost exclusively (except when he made model plane wings 'cos the Aquadhere made the wood veneer swell and the veneer sheeting would split when it dried out).
Blknight.aus
24th April 2012, 08:01 PM
spray adhesives, some hair sprays, hot glue, sellys no more nails, pretty much any sealasitc, clag glue.
V8Ian
24th April 2012, 08:29 PM
spray adhesives, some hair sprays, hot glue, sellys no more nails, pretty much any sealasitc, clag glue.
At $12 a 415g tube Dave! :o I had to get one today. $12 would buy about 5 litres of the white stuff. ;)
It'sNotWorthComplaining!
24th April 2012, 08:40 PM
not sticking, but how dispose of bulky left over styrene which takes a up a lot of space and is hard to get rid of.
What I do is put a bit of turps or petrol into a bucket, rip the styrene up and let it dissolve in the bucket, (I have managed to convert cubic meters of this annoying left over stuff) and the next day I peel the left over mass of styrene and bin it. The solvent fumes would have evaporated.
rick130
24th April 2012, 09:02 PM
I used to have a special 3M glue for it, but can't recall what it was.
Sorry Lou :(
As has been mentioned, anything with a hydrocarbon solvent in it will melt the stuff quicker than, well, anything.
dullbird
24th April 2012, 09:54 PM
ok I have some 3M spray adhesive I think somewhere (was used to put carpet on my wood when I built drawers for the disco)...I knew some glues would melt but wasn't sure which..
I have a hot glue gun somewhere too would that melt it?
Also Im assuming the packaging you get with TV's and stuff is polystyrene please if anyone knows otherwise please tell me
rick130
24th April 2012, 09:58 PM
[snip]
Also Im assuming the packaging you get with TV's and stuff is polystyrene please if anyone knows otherwise please tell me
Yes, it's expanded polystyrene foam.
87County
24th April 2012, 10:20 PM
Hi Guys and gals
I'm playing with a little project...
I'm making a target (for a dart gun not bullets) and it si in shape of a goat.
but rather than just having a peice of wood with some suitable material to catch the darts in the correct areas I have decided to see if I can get it a little more 3D
I have heaps of polystyrene here left over from packaging and stuff and I'm thinking of putting this on my goat cut out and shapping it to look a little bit more like a body and legs and stuff...
my question is because I have various pieces, what would be the best thing to stick the polystyrene to the wood and of course pieces of polystyrene to each other to build areas up ready to shape???
I know that polystyrene is not the most durable of materials if your going to shoot at it as it can fall apart easily however I do know you can coat it in a watery mixture of cement as people in aquariums do this for fake backgrounds etc.. was thinking of doing this just for a bit of durability before covering in material...
to those thinking of replying this is just a bit of project fun to see if I can pull it off and I only have 50bux to do it so no stupid suggestions of what I should be using including ballistics gel and real goats:D
the plan
1. draw goat shape - done
2. cut out
3. cover in polystyrene and then cut and file in to shapes to imitate body shape as best as possible
4. cover in something for durability
5. make areas where darts a re likely to hit out of appropriate material (thinking of those rubbery matts that people put down in boats and stuff that fix together like a jigsaw puzzle)
6. cover in material
7. attach something to back to allow it to stand on its own fairly stable
8. paint areas if needed
if you want to make a silhouette, use coreflute (plastic stuff used for real estate agent signs)
can be glued with sikaflex (small tubes from bunnings)
can be screwed to timber posts (if you need to stand it up )
as I just posted on that cardboard thread ( http://www.aulro.com/afvb/showthread.php't=149275 ) , 1200 X 2400 sheets from signwriters, 900 X 600 from bunnings at $7, (or real estate agents signs for free at nearest "for sale" property - just joking of course)
p38arover
24th April 2012, 10:25 PM
At $12 a 415g tube Dave! :o I had to get one today. $12 would buy about 5 litres of the white stuff. ;)
You don't buy Selleys Liquid Nails! Buy Parfix or Bostik No More Nails for about $2 a 300ml cartridge.
V8Ian
24th April 2012, 10:25 PM
PM Digger DB, I'm sure he'll be able to offer a scientific soloution. :angel:
goingbush
24th April 2012, 10:28 PM
I used to design / build / fly Radio Control model aircraft (aka toy planes) .
Used polystyrene and EPP quite a bit.
The Fatman in the pics is made from 2" thick white polystyrene.
Use Weldbond to glue it, but any PVA / White glue / Aquehere will do.
Glue the foam together then glue a sheet of brown paper onto it to give it strength.
Even the wooden engine bearers and ply support are glued to the foam with white glue.
As an example I was into building planes that did not look like planes, EG the Fatman was a REAL crowd pleaser , You could hover it standing up & would hover across the sky looking very silly. The foam / weld bond/ brown paper is very strong, One of the vertical stabilisers broke off on a bad crosswind landing (no rudder control) & reglued with weld bond & some fiberglass tape & good as new. You can see some foam sticking out on one of his feet that drag on the ground when flaring to land.
http://goingbush.com/landy/fatman1.jpg
http://goingbush.com/landy/fatman2.jpg
dullbird
24th April 2012, 10:44 PM
if you want to make a silhouette, use coreflute (plastic stuff used for real estate agent signs)
can be glued with sikaflex (small tubes from bunnings)
can be screwed to timber posts (if you need to stand it up )
as I just posted on that cardboard thread ( http://www.aulro.com/afvb/showthread.php't=149275 ) , 1200 X 2400 sheets from signwriters, 900 X 600 from bunnings at $7, (or real estate agents signs for free at nearest "for sale" property - just joking of course)
its not a silhouette as such its a target that looks more life like at a distance than a silhouette hopefully.
isuzutoo-eh
25th April 2012, 12:22 PM
Us toy train modellers use acrylic liquid nails or aliphatic resin. PVA takes too long to dry.
dullbird
25th April 2012, 03:59 PM
So will hot glue gun and sticks not work? That seems to set pretty quickly
Blknight.aus
25th April 2012, 04:10 PM
yes, but I should have been more specific...
theres several types of stick and they are supposed to have different bonding temps.
The ones holding up the panels in the wifes trailer are the clear ones for use on plastics. (at least thats whats on the multi box that came with the gun.)
The gun doesnt have a different temp setting but the feed speeds and pressure on the tirgger are massively different.
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