How to paint foam board

[Douglas]

I have now watched I don’t know how many flitetest videos on painting your foam board plane, and they are rife with contradictions. Some say paint a coat of minwax poly over all the surfaces before you build the plane. Another video says to wait until after you build the plane because the glue won’t work as well. Another video recommends pulling the paper off the foam board and apply a different minwax coated paper. Many videos skip the minwax process altogether. So now I have no idea what to do. Minwax or no minwax? Minwax before or after the build?

(And I’ll just assume that video where they recommended pull the paper off the foam board and applying a different paper was just really old.)

 

[Ketchup]

The video for applying a different paper was actually for waterproofing a plane, not painting. A lot of people use minwax and a lot of others don't, its really your choice. The videos might have different advice, but they are all still correct, so you can choose what to do.

 

[mrjdstewart]

Rustoleum 2X, enough said....

take your time and spray light. start spray off of foam board then move on. DO NOT squirt, squirt, squirt. the accelerant from the can will eat the foam. paint adds weight, always keep this in mind.

good luck,

me

 

[Flyingshark]

I have now watched I don’t know how many flitetest videos on painting your foam board plane, and they are rife with contradictions. Some say paint a coat of minwax poly over all the surfaces before you build the plane. Another video says to wait until after you build the plane because the glue won’t work as well. Another video recommends pulling the paper off the foam board and apply a different minwax coated paper. Many videos skip the minwax process altogether. So now I have no idea what to do. Minwax or no minwax? Minwax before or after the build?

(And I’ll just assume that video where they recommended pull the paper off the foam board and applying a different paper was just really old.)

I think the Minwax is mostly for Dollar Tree Foam Board. The brown FT foam board is already water resistant. There's a video on how to paint it:

If you're painting a white SBK from FT, I'm not sure whether it needs Minwax to be waterproof. Has anyone tested this?

 

[Douglas]

I think the Minwax is mostly for Dollar Tree Foam Board. The brown FT foam board is already water resistant. There's a video on how to paint it:

If you're painting a white SBK from FT, I'm not sure whether it needs Minwax to be waterproof. Has anyone tested this?

The current FT foam board is all white.

 

[Flyingshark]

The current FT foam board is all white.

That's Maker Foam then. Again, I don't know much about that, because I've only built with Elmers and brown foam board.

 

[CraftyPilot]

The current FT foam board is all white.

If you use Flitetest brand Maker Foam or the brown Flitetest foam you don't have to apply minwax, as it is already water-resistant.
If you use normal foamboard, I would recommend you to carefully paint it, making sure it doesn't get too wet and then seal it with a clear coat, like the others above.
Do not use oil based finishes on the foam or anything that contains harsh solvents.

 

[leaded50]

the paper it self can take close to any paint, its the amount of solvent put on, that could suck trough the paper who is problem there. The foam, is another thing. Most solvents normally just "eats" foam"! what ive done sometime is to seal any open foam with eg. a thin layer PVA glue (woodglue) then it go without problem to spraypaint if not too thick layer at one time.

 

[Monte.C]

I've painted with both Rustoleum and Krylon - I've always preferred Krylon but sometimes Rustoleum has the right color - on white Dollar Tree stuff and on brown FT foamboard. No troubles with any combination. I'm not trying to make a plane waterproof, but the paint sheds water even on the white stuff.

If you seal the foam edges with any sort of glue, the paint won't eat the foam. I like you use a really thin coating of Gorilla Glue, like really thin so it won't bubble up. It give a nice rigid edge, but that's just the way I like to do it.

 

[Merv]

I agree with all the above, many ways to accomplish the task. No one “right way”, find the way that works best for you.

My self, I don’t paint, I cover my planes completely with colored packing tape. It’s light weight, water proof, quick & easy to apply, looks good, adds a bit of strength and is inexpensive.