Making styrofoam look like brick is pretty fun but it’s long term durability isn’t the best.  Recently I had to do some repair work on a theater set piece I made a while back.  I am also wondering if I have a problem with hoarding spray paint.  And the big question is, What the heck am I doing on Youtube?  Online existentialism is a pretty tough question to answer as I have winging it ever since I have started.  It has been a blast so far and I will be making more videos for sure.

 

Shrek The Musical Tower 01

A while back I had made a tower for a local school theater while they were doing Shrek The Musical.  If you haven’t seen the original video of me making the tower I have it listed below.

Normally theater sets I build don’t last too long as the normally strike (remove) them shortly after the play is done.  In this case the theater department opted to keep the structure for use in their next musical.  Over the course of a year the tower needed a few minor repairs and they had called upon me to do it.

Shrek The Musical Tower 02

One spot had a sizable chunk missing that would need to be filled.

Shrek The Musical Tower 03

Another problem area was where a piece had snapped off just past a support.

Shrek The Musical Tower 04

In order to have a better mechanical connection between the drywall joint compound and the foam, I back-cut a key so when the compound dried it would be nicely locked into place.

Shrek The Musical Tower 05

Texturing the filler to match the brick is done by using a paint brush & stippling the joint compound.

Shrek The Musical Tower 06

Using some foamboard adhesive I could reattach the broken piece.  I back cut the added piece on the back edge to make room for a bit of adhesive.

Shrek The Musical Tower 07

Seating it firmly in place, the crack wasn’t too bad at all.

Shrek The Musical Tower 08

Some more joint compound in the crack and I stippled it once again.

Shrek The Musical Tower 10

I was super fortunate to find the original base color to do the touch up work.

Shrek The Musical Tower 11

I went over it a bit with some darker colors in my airbrush.

Shrek The Musical Tower 12

After the airbrushing and some time to dry, that repaired areas became almost invisible.

Shrek The Musical Tower 13

 

2 Responses

  1. Bob Bollard

    Hi Nick. My experience with spray paint cans might help. Always invert the can & spray the nozzle clear, of course. Used Cans, more than three or for years old, will spray maybe a second or two, then a particle of solids gets sucked into the tube, and that’s it. No amount of shaking will mix all the solids. 100% of them have failed. Unused cans, that’s iffy, depends a lot on the brand. Well known brands tend to last better than cheapies.

    Reply
    • Nick

      very cool info – I always invert the can after use to prevent clogging – It was suggested by another viewer to do a paint video and I probably do one when I get time – I go through paint fairly quick so I probably don’t have too many over a year or two old

      Reply

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