How to Create Durable Foam Halloween Decorations

Since most Halloween and holiday décor or facades are meant for the outdoors, they must be strong enough to withstand the elements. The best way to create durable, weather-resistant props is with foam and a hard coat.

It is the combination of the lightweight, cost-effective foam and the durability of a hard coat that is so desirable for holiday attractions. The coating will resist weathering, chipping, and cracking in extreme conditions, keeping your foam projects intact through the holiday season.

What Kind of Foam Is Used for Holiday Props and Attractions?

Because most holiday props are only utilized once a year and not year-round, fabricators will typically want to use the cheapest materials possible while keeping up the durability of the piece to be used year after year. This is where EPS foam comes in.

It’s an easy-to-use and customizable material for various theming projects. Because you can shape it how you want, you can create realistic, life-like designs for haunts and haunted houses, Christmas extravaganzas, or other holiday events.

What Can I Use to Give the Foam a Hard Outer Surface?

The one additional thing you must consider when using foam is how you plan to protect it. Some DIYers might go straight to painting their props, but this can harm the foam, especially if you use solvent paint that could melt it.

Due to the environment your props may be situated in, you’re going to need a material that can protect them in harsh outdoor conditions. A polyurethane hard coat is the best material for the job due to its hardness, physical properties, and adhesion to EPS foam.

When the foam is sealed with a hard coating, it makes the piece resistant to weathering, water, impact, and other damage. These features keep your holiday props and decorations lasting for many seasons, whether they’re placed indoors or outdoors.

VFI has several hard coats to choose from, and while most small scene shops and set builders would choose a brushable coating due to its extended pot life and low equipment costs, there is a better alternative. Many people think that the only way they’ll be capable of spraying a urethane hard coat is with an expensive high-pressure spray rig, but there is a low-pressure version that works just as well and provides similar benefits.

VFI-6171 70 D Qwik Spray Hard Coat is a hard coating compatible with the VFI-7500 Qwik Spray Gun. These two items make up the Qwik Spray System, which is a low-volume, entry-level option for hardening foam. The coating can be used in indoor and outdoor environments as it is ASTM E84 Class A fire-tested.

A benefit of hard coats that some other materials fail to do is hold up to thermocycling. Because holiday seasons can be so unpredictable with temperature, you need to use a material that isn’t affected by such drastic changes. VFI hard coats are capable of enduring temperatures that go from high to extremely low without cracking. This not only keeps the hard coat intact, but it also protects your piece.

Benefits of Using a Cartridge-Based Hard Coat

While brushable and high-pressure hard coats offer their own benefits, there are several reasons why a cartridge-based system might benefit your project more.

• Fast-setting. Since cartridge-based coatings are sprayable, they come with similar benefits to high-pressure spray coatings. They offer curing speeds almost as fast as a high-pressure system, which is an advantage over roll and brush-on coatings. If you were to use a brush-on coating, it may provide you with an extended working time, but it will also extend the cure time as well. You won’t be able to start sanding or painting until the hard coat has fully hardened. A cartridge-based coating like VFI-6171 cures to handle in 5-7 minutes for same-day sanding and painting.
• Ease of use. As a cartridge-based system, VFI-6171 is easy to load into the applicator and start using once connected to an air compressor. VFI has even put together instructions on assembling and loading the applicator to make the process go even smoother. The applicator itself is portable, lightweight, and easy to maneuver.
• Minimal waste. There is virtually no clean-up necessary because the cartridges can simply be thrown away once empty. There are no spray lines to worry about flushing either since the static mix tips can be discarded as well. The only clean-up you need to be concerned with is potential overspray. You also don’t need to worry about mixing up material you don’t need since the exact ratio is contained in the cartridges. We’ve even made it easy to figure out how many cartridges you need by viewing the Qwik Spray coverage chart on the product page.
• Smooth, consistent finish. Bare, carved foam is notoriously hard to paint. A sprayable coating will provide a smooth, rigid surface that makes it much easier to paint the piece. Hard coating also makes it easier to create a more realistic, professional look when you paint over it. Since the coating is sprayed, you have more control compared to brush or roll-on applications. There’s always the risk of creating brush strokes or using too much material in certain places, which causes the coating to drip. Due to these defects, brush-on coatings will need extra post-work to achieve the finish desired.
• Minimize bubbling. A unique downside of urethane is that it is a moisture-sensitive material. This moisture sensitivity makes it harder to use in humid environments without causing bubbling on the surface, resulting in extra post-work after cure. However, when you use a spray coating, you reduce the risk of bubbles forming in the curing process because the material sets faster than a brushable coating.
• Lower long-term costs. If you’re a small fabricator and you’re using a brushable hard coat, you might want to consider upgrading to a cartridge-based system. Over time, material costs for a brushable hard coat are more expensive than the upfront costs for Qwik Spray equipment. If you’re consistently working on projects, you’ll make the upfront costs back in no time.

What Holiday Décor Can I Create with Hard Coated Foam?

With EPS foam as your base, there’s no limit to what kind of holiday décor and props you can create. Since sprayable coatings conform to the surface without diminishing details, you can create hyperrealistic pieces for all seasons, including:

• Set pieces – We’ve seen our hard coat used to protect large castle facades, architectural shapes, and archways, which work as spooky entrances to haunted houses and mazes.
• Small indoor or outdoor props – Small gravestones, pumpkins, snowmen, mushrooms, and more can make great accents to a larger themed space.
• Large indoor or outdoor props – Big, life-like props of skeletons can frighten guests in a haunted house, or giant ornaments can invite them into your winter wonderland.
• Photo opportunities – Larger-than-life statues of pumpkins, elves, reindeer, Easter bunnies, and more can make lovely photo opportunities for an entire family.

Contact VFI for more information on our hard coats for your next EPS theming holiday project.