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[Gruni]

Mine is the Dunlop Multi-purpose Acrylic Render.

Hey Jax how sloppy or stiff do you mix it? Also how thick do you smear it on?

 

[joelysmoley]

I know your not asking me gruni but my mix in between sloopy and stiff and i smeared it on so you couldnt really feel the styrofoam anymore

 

[J-A-X]

First coat - about the consistency of standard cream (not. Double thick or dollop ). It gets into all the nooks and crannies. I add pva glue to the water with this one, it seems to help it stick to the foam. Use an old or $2 shop large paint brush.

Next layer a little thicker

last coat is about the same consistency of a good ol' mud pie or sand castle. smeared on by hand (use rubber gloves or have a bucket of water handy. ) be careful not to leave finger grooves / lines on it. Once it starts to dry you can brush with an old brush to remove all the little 'balls' that seem to appear.

Just remember you don't want it perfectly smooth - we make fake rocks, we're not rendering the house

 

[joelysmoley]

some great info jax, i only applied one coat but mine still turned up fine.

 

[Skippii]

Ahh Jax, you've got such a wealth of knowledge when it comes to DIY. How would we ever get by without you!

Also Joel, great background, you should be proud! I'm hoping to make my own at some point, and it's threads like this that really give me ideas and inspire me to give it a go. So thanks

x

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Where are you guys getting all this styrofoam from by the way?

x

 

[Gruni]

The dumpster at Harvey Norman. You get some great high density styrene that way.

 

[Skippii]

Cheers Gruni, definitely another fella we couldn't do without around here! I'll pop down to Harvey Norman next time I'm in the area and see what spoils I can find.

x

 

[joelysmoley]

I got some styrofoam from behind restaurants, they have good foam esky's just make sure you ask them if they still need it, if it has like bits of vegies and stuff just wash it out.

 

[Gruni]

Those are brocoli boxes if you go to Coles/Woolies they will happily give you as many as you can carry.

 

[joelysmoley]

Yeah thats what they are called, didnt know you could get them from coles and woolies though.

 

[Gruni]

Yeah the produce boys chuck them out every day.

 

[Levold]

Those are brocoli boxes if you go to Coles/Woolies they will happily give you as many as you can carry.

Do they still have broccoli boxes at the supermarkets? Thought they switched to black foldup crates and cardboard boxes at my ones atleast.

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[Gruni]

As far as I am aware they are still available... having said that the last ones I had to grab was just over a year ago for a mates 40th and we needed somewhere to shove some coldies. :lol: I got my last styrene from Harvey Norman and didn't even try the produce guys.

 

[thomasssss]

Yeah thats what they are called, didnt know you could get them from coles and woolies though.

i packed shelves at coles a few years ago , they have an abundance of foam that all ends up in the bin unless there is someone whos asked for it so they dont mind the least giving it out , in my experience anyway

 

[Levold]

i packed shelves at coles a few years ago , they have an abundance of foam that all ends up in the bin unless there is someone whos asked for it so they dont mind the least giving it out , in my experience anyway

Didn't think of looking in the dumpster. They use to always stack the boxes in the corner of the delivery port. Will ask next time.

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[thomasssss]

Didn't think of looking in the dumpster. They use to always stack the boxes in the corner of the delivery port. Will ask next time.

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easiest way would be to ask someone thats heading in and out of the storage area , the check out chicks wont pass on the message and our dumpster was located next to the cardboard compactor thingy so not accessible to the public most of the time , if you go later at night you might catch the packing guys and they will be the ones that will sit stuff aside for you , its been a while since i worked there and there may have been a bit of a reduction in the amount used but im sure there would still be a fair amount going through supermarkets

 

[Gruni]

I asked the young bloke at Woolies this morning and he said they still get some stuff in styrene and some in the fold up boxes. I always find when I need them I ask the fruit and veg staff and they happily go grab me some.

 

[lizardjasper]

I asked the young bloke at Woolies this morning and he said they still get some stuff in styrene and some in the fold up boxes. I always find when I need them I ask the fruit and veg staff and they happily go grab me some.

That's how I got mine! But I went to coles. Then I drove around the back of harvey norman and they had a heap in the bin.