Sculpt or Coat. Tried it? Like it?

[zoetrope]

Well, I finally got the Foam Book, which is a great resource, but boy oh boy do they love their Sculpt or Coat. I mean, it's mentioned every other page. I'd like to hear from any of you who have tried it. Did you find it useful? Do you use it much? Any opinions appreciated.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

I haven't really used Sculpt or Coat that much, I think Puppet Planet has some experience with it. Try searching the archives, I'm sure it's been discussed a few times.

 

[zoetrope]

I think Puppet Planet has some experience with it.

I looked at both puppet-planet.com and puppetplanet.com and neither had archives that I could find. Do you have a link?

 

[Buck-Beaver]

Sorry, I meant the Muppet Central forum archives. There should be more information in one of these threads:

http://forum.muppetcentral.com/search.php?searchid=146772

PuppetPlanet (the forum member) has a lot of info on Sculpt or Coat I think.

 

[Puppetplanet]

Hey guys,

sorry I haven't been on much lately. Local teachers have to get their purchases made and approved with the school board for next year and they've kept me busy.

Sculpt or coat is great stuff. I don't use it much to texture my puppets because the muppet type ones are what my clients are looking for. I have used it often for certain types of teeth though, and it's really easy to work with.

I use it mostly when I'm making props for local puppeteers and ministry teams for their stage set up. It makes a great textured surface that lasts a long time and is resistant to breakage, fading, and aging of foam. An example, if you look on the Build Your Own page of my site, there is a free diagram and instructions to build a piano prop. The first time I tried it two years ago I didn't use any sculpt or coat. The prop became dirty fast, it now has tears and it's a sad looking piano that we use for slum back drops. *grin* I first heard of sculpt or coat about 6 months after I made that piano and made a replacement right away..... that thing still looks new!

Sculpt or coat can be mixed with just about anything to create different types of textures. I mixed it with sand, paint, and glitter and applied it to poster board (yellow brick road) for a Wizard of Oz parady my church did last year. I've also mixed it with mulch shavings to make a realistic base for tree props and applied it with gauze & paint to texturize the trunk of a palm.

Tons of uses, and best of all...... here is the official website to get your imagination kick started. This link is on my website's "Build Your Own" page as well: http://www.sculpturalarts.com/

Click the Sculpt Or Coat box on the top left row.

Hope this helps!
-Michele

 

[zoetrope]

Thanks for the in depth reply. One thing the foam book said is they use Sculpt or Coat to toughen up the finger tubes on the inside of the mouth. Have you (or anyone) used it for that purpose. Used anything else for that purpose?

 

[Firecat87]

The lovely products from sculptural arts

Hi! I just wanted to post a quick reply. While I have not used Sculpt or Coat for the specific purpose of puppet making, I have used it a lot.- along with some other similar products- in theatre (for props and sets). Sculpt-or-Coat is great stuff. It is easy to work with, sandable, tintable, paintable. It creates a nice texture, if you want, or can be sanded to a very smooth surface. If you are interested in other substances like Scupt-or Coat, I recommend checking out a company called Rosco. They are a theatrical supplier (mostly lighting and painting products). They make two products. The first- Flexbond- is great for creating textures that are still flexible. Also good if you want to paint foam but keep it flexible and prevent cracking. The other product is called FoamCoat. It is similar to Sculpt or Coat, but a little more viscous. It is easier to build up layers and texture with Sculpt or Coat, but FoamCoat is nice for covering large areas. Anyway, hope some of this info is helpful.

 

[Puppetplanet]

I think I have the foam book videos around here somewhere, but I don't recall anything being mentioned about sculpt or coat on the finger tubes. I remember the finger tube method that they demonstrate, but I don't use that method for my comfort grips. I do use foam to create a pocket for the thumb, but I like the flexability that the foam offers so I haven't had much interest in making it stiff. I do, however, re-enforce and strengthen the foam with fabric on both sides and I use contact cement to make a strong bond. (which Buck doesn't approve of) *grin*..... you know, environment and all.



FIRECAT: Thanks for the suggestion, do you have order info or a website for the company that makes the items your talking about?

-Michele

 

[zoetrope]

I think I have the foam book videos around here somewhere, but I don't recall anything being mentioned about sculpt or coat on the finger tubes. I remember the finger tube method that they demonstrate, but I don't use that method for my comfort grips. I do use foam to create a pocket for the thumb, but I like the flexability that the foam offers so I haven't had much interest in making it stiff. I do, however, re-enforce and strengthen the foam with fabric on both sides and I use contact cement to make a strong bond.

I have the book rather than the video, and they say they put the tubes, cover with cloth and add S or C to stiffen and strengthen the whole thing. I don't have the book with me right now but at some point I'll quote the section I'm referring to in this thread. Stay tuned.

And thanks Firecat87 for the additional info.

 

[zoetrope]

Foam book says . . .

Ok, here goes. Page 14-15 of The Foam Book. They take 1/2 inch polyfoam about 4 and 1/4 inches wide and they roll it into a long tube 36 inches long, with edges spray glued together, then they cut tubes from this "snake". Hot glue the tubes to the top and bottom mouth flaps, then make a top flap out of stretchy lining fabric, and spray glue this over the top tubes, sealing them in.

As a final reinforcement step, coat the entire inside--flapps, finger tubes and all--with a thin layer of Sculpt or Coat. Make sure it soaks into the fabric, thus extending the life of the mouth mechanism indefinitely

By the way, I know the Foam Book gets mentioned a lot on this forum, but thought I should add my own thumbs up to this great resource. Well worth the money. Well written with lots of useful info and a sense of humor.