Mark42
Fleet Admiral
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2003
- Messages
- 9,334
I am working with 1.5" pink rigid styrene insulation pannels (by Owens Corning) to make the hard top for my Bayliner. I know from other members posts that they have used the foam pannels to make insulated live wells, built in coolers, etc.
I have to glue up two to three 2' x 8' pannels to make pieces big enough to cut the top pieces out of. One problem I have been wrestling with is how to glue them together. The glue sold to install them (latex based) takes too long to dry (we're talking days here), especially when gluing two pieces together. Wood glue is not good, construction adhesive, contact cement, etc all melt the styrene.
Today I found a glue that really works great, not too expensive, is water proof, expands to fill gaps, doesn't melt the styrene, HARDENS IN 1 HOUR, and sticks to the foam really good. Gorilla Glue! Found it at Home Depot. Heard the name around for a few years, but never used it before, nor did I realize it foams up.
Gorilla Glue is much cheaper than epoxy, which is the only other glue that will bond the foam without melting it and hardens fairly quickly.
So if you have plans to work a project using styrene foam as the core, Gorilla glue is THE glue to use when building parts from foam.
I followed the directions and wet one side of the foam board with water (water just beads up), then smeared a thin layer of Gorilla Glue on the other, then pinned the two pieces together with tooth pics. The tooth pics were my idea, not in the directions. The glue starts to foam (looks like the foam that you mix for flotation) within a minute or two and squeezes out the cracks. Wait about 15 minutes to wipe off the excess foam or it will harden and leave big foamy lumps along the glue line. After an hour, its hardened enough for handling, cutting, etc.
BTW, if you decide to build a cooler, livewell, center console, etc from styrene foam pannels, remember that you must cover it with EPOXY and glass, not Poly and glass, as the poly will disolve the foam and it will ruin the project.
Attaching the pieces together I've cut so far has been a big holdup on the project. Today I bought more foam pannels (1.5" x 2' x 8' is $12) and tomorrow I start making the roof piece that requires 3 pannels to be glued up. I can't wait!
I have to glue up two to three 2' x 8' pannels to make pieces big enough to cut the top pieces out of. One problem I have been wrestling with is how to glue them together. The glue sold to install them (latex based) takes too long to dry (we're talking days here), especially when gluing two pieces together. Wood glue is not good, construction adhesive, contact cement, etc all melt the styrene.
Today I found a glue that really works great, not too expensive, is water proof, expands to fill gaps, doesn't melt the styrene, HARDENS IN 1 HOUR, and sticks to the foam really good. Gorilla Glue! Found it at Home Depot. Heard the name around for a few years, but never used it before, nor did I realize it foams up.
Gorilla Glue is much cheaper than epoxy, which is the only other glue that will bond the foam without melting it and hardens fairly quickly.
So if you have plans to work a project using styrene foam as the core, Gorilla glue is THE glue to use when building parts from foam.
I followed the directions and wet one side of the foam board with water (water just beads up), then smeared a thin layer of Gorilla Glue on the other, then pinned the two pieces together with tooth pics. The tooth pics were my idea, not in the directions. The glue starts to foam (looks like the foam that you mix for flotation) within a minute or two and squeezes out the cracks. Wait about 15 minutes to wipe off the excess foam or it will harden and leave big foamy lumps along the glue line. After an hour, its hardened enough for handling, cutting, etc.
BTW, if you decide to build a cooler, livewell, center console, etc from styrene foam pannels, remember that you must cover it with EPOXY and glass, not Poly and glass, as the poly will disolve the foam and it will ruin the project.
Attaching the pieces together I've cut so far has been a big holdup on the project. Today I bought more foam pannels (1.5" x 2' x 8' is $12) and tomorrow I start making the roof piece that requires 3 pannels to be glued up. I can't wait!