Custom foam/epoxy sculptures – Banana Slug

This 3 ft. long sculpture is going to be installed on a children’s playground in California. School mascott I think… Anyway, the beauty of a foam/ epoxy sculpture is  that it is completely weatherproof, extremely durable and light. This type of sculpture is excellent for mini golf courses, movie props, theater sets and props, museum displays, resorts, theme parks, playgrounds, etc…. Here are some pics of the sculpture process…

Step 1 – Cut some extruded insulation foam to size and laminate layers together to make a block. You have to use special foam glue for this…

Step 2 – Use a chainsaw or hotwire tool to block out the form…

A rasp works great for all the curves and to refine the form. The rasp is faster and less smelly than the hotwire tool…

Step 3 – Make the addons… I used the lathe to make the antennas…

Now the form is refined and ready for step 4 – sanding…

The foam smoothed out real nice using sandpaper by hand and with power tools…

To get rid of the holes, I used an exterior grade wood filler…

Step 5 – Apply the hard coat. I used 2 products on this piece. One product is called foam coat and it is like a plaster that hardens like rock. I used foam coat to strengthen the antennas and the embedded hardware.

The other product is called styroplast. It is a 2 part polyurethane that has the same qualities of epoxy but without the nasty smell. I put 2 coats of styroplast on to give it a durable, weather proof shell. The auto stores carry an auto body product called “bondo”. It should also work well as a hardcoat over foam…

After the shell dries, I sand away imperfections inbetween coats.

Now that the shell is dry and has been sanded smooth, it’s ready for several coats of  automotive primer and paint.

Thanks so much for looking at this post… If you would like a foam/epoxy sculpture made, get in touch by clicking on the contact page of my official site – www.customwoodcarvings.com

God bless you richly with His empowering Spirit and grace.

Kris