foam rock paint

[Viet-Tin]

Anyone know the name of the stuff used to paint the foam rocks? Was it a paint or an epoxy resin?

[aquasport24]

I think i've seen it with epoxy resin and coat it with sand.

[brewercm]

Do you mean creating the foam rocks?
If so, I think it is called Great Stuff foam and then they lay a coat of aragonite sand onto it while it is still wet.

[Viet-Tin]

I have the great stuff foam but when I sprinkle sand onto it falls off. Im going to be cutting the surface off to give it a more natural rock look so I was wondering if I could paint it or use an epoxy to seal sand and rubble to. The foam is only going to be used to cover up zip ties and egg crate and give the look of one big rock structure instead of a pile of rocks.

[txstateunivreefer]

im sure that you would be ok with krylon fusion paint it has been used in tanks in the past so i think it would work for your application, but test it first on the foam to make sure that it doesnt melt it.

[Viet-Tin]

Thats the one I was thinking of. Thanks! Time to go spend a few at HD

[RayAllen]

I would recommend checking these out. May give you some ideas. These guys do some really cool stuff, I was on cichlid forum alot when I was into freshwater.


http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=99515

[Viet-Tin]

wow those are pretty neat! I wish I could be that creative. Thanks ill have to finish browsing through them all.

[RayAllen]

No problem, Ive seen some of those ideas applied to saltwater and it makes for a very nice display.

[Viet-Tin]

I got my idea from this thread. Amazing work and outcome!

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=11598422#post11598422

[erikharrison]

very cool thread. :) To help with your dilemma, you can use some paint mixers to help mold the foam to the rock so you dont have a bunch of squiggle lines. Try putting sand on directly after. It should work ok.

[ismvel]

I have been wondering, other than aesthetics, what is the purpose of sand on the foam?

[Texreefer]

make sure you take some pictures

[Viet-Tin]

Will do. Hopefully mines comes out half as decent as his! I may even break down my 100 gal and redo it this way.

[erikharrison]

I have been wondering, other than aesthetics, what is the purpose of sand on the foam?


none. :) It looks tenfold better with the sand. I have a giant rock that I made but it's too big for my tank. It's as yellow as cheesy macaroni!

[MissT]

The Krylon Fusion works really well, and it wont melt the foam. The sand wont stick to just the foam, you need to coat it with an epoxy resin, then sprinkle it on. I painted mine first, then used the epoxy resin and tossed on a binch of sand to give it texture; it's still not much to look at, but structurally, it's exactly what I wanted and the result is what counts...

[Viet-Tin]

Just need a few more things and ill start experimenting. Ill take pics if things come out decent.

[Viet-Tin]

after i spray the krylon do i need to add a sealer or something or is the krylon marine safe itself?

[MissT]

It's fine like it is

[Viet-Tin]

great thanks for the help.

[Viet-Tin]

anyone know where to find marine epoxy resin? All im finding is the small 2 part syringe stuff or putty. Does it have to be marine or is a regular 2 part epoxy resin ok?