# expanding foam question



## crazyg (Feb 3, 2008)

just finished doin the expandin foam part of my back ground im just havin a quick smoke then ill touch up anywere that needs i was wunderin how long till its cured enuff to grout over cus i already grouted the back ground 7 times an now ive attached my plant pots with the foam an realllly wanna crack on with it now cus i can see the finish line yayyy


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## bonez007 (Oct 25, 2008)

the wait will be over in the morning mate, plenty dry enough to grout over :2thumb:


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## Willz0r2010 (Oct 6, 2010)

Why are you grouting expanding foam? You can sand it, paint it, get it wet, shape it or cover in wet silicone and press eco earth or coco fibre into it without needing to grout it at all!


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## DanielF (Oct 31, 2010)

Willz0r2010 said:


> Why are you grouting expanding foam? You can sand it, paint it, get it wet, shape it or cover in wet silicone and press eco earth or coco fibre into it without needing to grout it at all!


This silicone stuff is aload of rubbish to be honest after about a month it all wrecks.. the best thing i have ever done to make a viv look real is to get a bucket.. fill it with, 33% Tight bond 3 (Glue), 33% Eco earth, 33% Moss.. mix it all together & slap it on the foam.. it will be rock soild by the next morning, it wont crack, its wont peel, & its 100% waterproof


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## Willz0r2010 (Oct 6, 2010)

Can't possibly agree with you on that mate! I've used silicone over expanding foam and it's held up in a tank with a Suriname Bcc, so that's high temperature, high humidity, spilled water bowls, constant spraying etc etc, including a complete rip out of it all because of mites and I've not had a single issue with it!


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## sambridge15 (Nov 22, 2009)

my oldest silicone eco background is almost a year old none has come off! my guess is you did it very wrong either the eco earth you used was to wet or bone dry or you didnt press the earth into the silicone hard enough or you didnt use enough silicone

..... as other have said grouting over expanding foam seems silly its not toxic and its very strong so wont need grouting and sealing if its for a rainforest species id look into the above method gives amazing results 

my 2 expanding backgrounds 

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/amphibians/572978-planted-exo-guide-10.html

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/habitat/674648-small-rainforest-exo-build-2.html


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## Willz0r2010 (Oct 6, 2010)

Have you tried using gorilla glue yet mate? I'm doing another build at the moment and wondering if it's worth buying some?


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## sambridge15 (Nov 22, 2009)

Willz0r2010 said:


> Have you tried using gorilla glue yet mate? I'm doing another build at the moment and wondering if it's worth buying some?



i didnt like it but i used it over expanding foam, using it directly onto the background works great but i like the shapes expanding foam gives


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## crazyg (Feb 3, 2008)

cheers for all the replys but i didnt think of the sillicone/ecoearth method i mixed a bit of green paint with the grout so now its green lol but i dont like it im thinking ov starting over now as i no longer love it


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