Tips and Tricks of the Trade

If you are going to be using a lot of 1/2" to 1" PVC tubing then this tool will save you tons of time.  It is a PVC cutter and can be bought at any store like Menards or Home Depot or local hardware store for less than $10

This is just a scrap piece of 1" x 2" pine with #10 nails at a V notch.   Place one end of your PVC tube here and the other on any flat surface and spray painting becomes much easier.

Painting 101

You have by now heard all about dry brushing to get some nifty affects.  I don't like dry brushing because it just wastes a lot of paint and takes forever.  I use a combination of techniques that work very well.  First, when I am painting my faux walls, I do not paint every thing black.  I do paint most of the project black. (see above.) I always leave portions of the center of the project clean so when you go back over it with the grey, you get a natural color variance.  Once dry, I will go back over the "stone" and using a watered down mixture of the black and grey, and wash over the surface parts.   You want this to be darker than the regular grey, but not too dark so you may have to play with this a bit. The "wash" will actually settle into the valleys of the project and give it wonderful depth and detail.

Do yourself a favor and get one or two of these.  They are like extra pairs of hands when working alone. I got this one on sale at Menards for $14.95 on sale, reg. $19.95.

Painting 102

To prep PVC for painting use a 220 grit emery cloth to clean it up and give the paint a better surface to stick to.

Keep a tub of this type of product around to fill in wood or foam board if you make a mistake.  It adheres very well to both mediums very well and is easily sanded.  This one by Dap is available everywhere.

Extruded Foam board Do's and Dont's

1. I have discovered that a good exterior wood glue        is excellent for gluing two pieces of Foam board         together.  Just sand the two facing pieces with a         palm sander and wipe clean for best adhesion. 2. To quickly cut Foam board, use a jigsaw with a          leather blade.  It cuts clean and smooth and you         can follow curves very well.  Two blades for             about 3 bucks at any hardware store. 3. To glue large sheets of carved Foam board or             whatever use PL300 Foam board adhesive in             caulking tubes.  DO NOT  use liquid nails or              some thing similar as it will melt the Foam board! 4.  Always remember to use Latex based paints on          Foam board.  Oil based paints will melt it. 5.  On the 1/2" Foam board there is a plastic sheet          stuck on both sides of it.  You must peel this off        before doing any work on the sheet.  Paint and          adhesives will not stick to it, and if by chance            they do stick, they will flake or the sheet will             unexpectedly peel away.

FYI only, just thought this info may be useful.  Also, all pics are thumbnails and can be enlarged by double clicking the pic.