Foam friendly varnish?

[Graham Davies 3]

Morning helpful people,

 

In my continuing quest to refine the foam/ foamboard/ laminate underlay/ any other cheap tat I can find modelling techniques, I've been considering how to finish these creations such that they are as tough as they can be, remain light, look good and retain the brief of using cheap and readily available materials.

 

So far I have used:

• brown paper/ pva with emulsion painted directly and no finishing
• Paint directly onto foamboard skins (sprayed emulsion)
• Paint directly onto foam with nothing over the top
• Paint onto the foam and then covered in laminating film

 

All have merits and drawbacks. The Regianne looks great using brown paper and emulsion, but softens at the hint of moisture. The Pitts will survive, but laminating film over foam is far from 'invisible' so does not serve to add a nice gloss sheen. It's not easy to apply to the soft foam and needs a cool iron. It's very hard to avoid wrinkles and get a really even finish.

 

 

The best finishes I have achieved have been on Richard Wills' Warbirds replicas conventional kits which were covered in Brown Paper and PVA before a few coats of dope were applied. Paint then went directly onto this. The finish is great, and the covering incredibly tough:

 

 

What I'm now thinking is to continue using brown paper and pva for the foam models, but to then paint and THEN varnish.

 

Does anyone know of a water based and foam friendly varnish I can try? I would prefer to start with a recommendation rather than embark on a potentially costly trial and error operation! If possible, gloss and satin/ matt versions. 

 

Thanks all

 

Graham

 

[Ron Gray]

Water based floor varnish will do the job, but you’re going to be adding a lot of weight, brown paper and pva on their own add a considerable amount.

[GrumpyGnome]

I've used very cheap varnish (Poundland), an own-brand (B&Q i think), and a branded one (Ronseal) on my foamies. All seemed to work the same tbh.

[steve too]

Poly C (polycrylic), Ronseal Diamond.

 

Lightweight glass cloth and Poly C works well.