# Some basic projects, gearing up for 2011



## TroyO (Sep 7, 2011)

I just figured I would post on some of my progress. I don't see much point in a "How-To" just yet, since what I'm doing was all learned here reading other people's How-To's in the first place, LOL! (Thanks so much!)

This weekend, more shopping and I got mostly done with 80' of fencing. It still needs paint.

I got some super primer at a Benjamin Moore paint store and they were able to tint it to a kind of dark steel grey. It's called "Stix" and it is designed for "Hard to adhere surfaces" and even lists PVC specifically. It was like $35 for the gallon... not sure it will be worth it but I wanted to give it a try.

I'll be spraying the grey primer and the flat black top coat HVLP style....I hope. I've never tried that with latex, we'll see.

Anyway... some progress pics this weekend.

Now, I'm going to bed..... LOL, I'm wiped!


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## CoolDJTV (Jun 28, 2011)

Nice! I havent got around to doing a good rough iron fence this year 

oh Well, Next year... LOL


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Nice fence! Are you using it for a graveyard scene?


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## Bone Dancer (Oct 7, 2005)

So where did you get the finials you used?


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## cerinad (Jun 23, 2008)

Nice...you've gotten way more than I have..I am running behind due to the death of my mother and moving. But hopefully I will get a couple small projects done..Great work.


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## Headless (Sep 4, 2011)

Sorry to hear about your mom Cerinad. 

Nice fence TroyO. Can't wait to see how you use it.


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## Haunted Spider (Sep 6, 2010)

Rough up the pvc with some sandpaper before you paint it. Even the spray on krylon designed for plastic says to rough up the plastic first. If you don't it will chip off in random places. Other than that the fence looks good.


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## Haunted Spider (Sep 6, 2010)

Your HVLP system should work fine to spray latex. I sprayed the duration latex house coating from Sherwin Williams with a Capspray 9900 earlier this year. It worked out just fine. Just make sure you wash out the system good when you are done as it is latex and it likes to gum up the pieces.


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## Dark Angel 27 (Sep 11, 2008)

the fence looks great!


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## TroyO (Sep 7, 2011)

Roxy, yes it will be a graveyard. Coffin/FCG/Headstones... welll, you know. IF I get it all done, LOL.

Bone Dancer, Finials were from http://www.kingmetals.com/default.aspx?page=item detail&itemcode=10-6007-34
$0.27 each, I ordered 100... $27.00 plus shipping which was ~$20 so $47 total for the 100.

Ceriniad, my condolances.

SpiderClimber, thanks agin for the tutorial and help! All of the PVC got hit with a paint-remover-sanding-grit sponge (Think Scotch Brite and sandpaper mixed together, LOL.) during assembly of the finials, so they they should be good for paint. It worked really fast.

The HVLP gun I'm using was a super deal at Harbor Freight... $10 w/Coupon
http://www.harborfreight.com/20-oz-high-volume-low-pressure-gravity-feed-spray-gun-47016.html
If that won't cut it I have an older one I got from HF that is really a pretty good one, but for the $10 I didn't want to risk the "Good one" with an unknown paint, LOL. (It's discontinued and one of those rare Harbor Freight Gems... works really great.)


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## Haunted Spider (Sep 6, 2010)

Well I hope the HVLP gun works out for you. Mine was a little more expensive than that but it does the job for what I need. 

If you are paint the fence black, I would suggest removing the finials first as paint does not stick to that plastic worth anything. Either that or try it on one first and see. I found it any paint I put on their peeled miserably, but hey, that might help with the effect.


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## TroyO (Sep 7, 2011)

The finials are actually cast iron, so paint should stick OK. It was actually a penny each cheaper than the plastic, although I'm sure shipping was higher. Overall I just didn't want to have to worry about exactly that issue of holding paint, LOL.

I can review the gun and let folks know if it works. I'm not sure how many haunters have a big enough compressor for HVLP (Mine barely cuts it... 4.5 CFM/110 PSI) but for $10 if it can sling some paint around it will be worth it. My guess is it will be fine for prop use.... although you might not want to try spraying furniture varnishes or your car with it, LOL.

With a cost equal to about 2 rattle cans if it's functional it would be hard to beat.


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## Bone Dancer (Oct 7, 2005)

Thanks for the info.


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## Sawtooth Jack (Apr 9, 2011)

That is going to be a good looking fence. I hope to start mine next weekend!


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## fick209 (Aug 31, 2009)

Great looking fence!!!


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## TroyO (Sep 7, 2011)

More done this weekend, but no pics unfortunatley. (I can try and take some later.)

First off... for $10 that HVLP gun worked SUPERBLY. The coupon for it was in the newspaper a few weeks ago to get it for $10, but it's on sale for $15 in any case. It sprayed just fine. I didn't try it with auto paint or any varnishes but it blew on the latex primer and top coat just fine. I thinned both with "Floetrol" and the paint I also added some water to it.

I think it saved a ton of time and it looks good.

Next up, I found a place that sells trailers and is giving away 12x12x16 styrofoam blocks and I went and picked up a load of them. These will get stacked and glued to become short columns between fence sections. 

I haven't yet decided how extactly to attach the fence sections to the columns yet. "Real ones" tend to use an angle bracket and are bolted to the column. But, I'm not sure how securely I can attach foam like that. Any suggestions?

Finally, more of those blocks will become the cemetary gate columns too.... again, a bit undecided exactly HOW that will occur.


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## MrGrimm (May 19, 2009)

Very nice fence indeed... and looks pretty sturdy too... You keeping people out? ...or something in?


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## TroyO (Sep 7, 2011)

I'm using the fence to keep in the last bit of my sanity..... oppps. Never mind, there it went....

Latest updates... "functional" completion on my FCG and I think with some final touches it will do just dandy. I'm running a burn in test on it now. I figure if I put an hour on it with no failures and nothing gets hot it will keep going indefinitly-ish.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

What are you using for the light source on your FCG?

For your question about attaching your fence to your foam columns, I think I might use some larger diameter pieces of PVC and have them go all the way through the columns so that the fence sections can slide into them. Maybe use a cotter pin and key to lock them together. That would allow you to disassemble the fence without having to destroy anything. If you have problems finding keys big enough you could also use a nut and bolt instead of the cotter pin and key.


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## TroyO (Sep 7, 2011)

Fontgeek, the lights are (2) of the little clamp lights with black light compact flourescents in them.

Hmmm, ya know that just might work. I could even use zip ties, really. It's better idea than I was going to go with, which was 1/2 PVC through the posts then rebar threaded on the ends, which would go through L brackets attached to the fence peices.


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## Headless (Sep 4, 2011)

Love it!


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## TroyO (Sep 7, 2011)

I'm trying Imageshack so appologies if I hork it up....

I made some progress today.

This is my "Killa Chilla" fog chiller coffin. The idea is mostly the "reverse vortex" design except I didn't bother with pipeing the fog in there.... why pipe it in when you can just make it right there in the first place?

The coffin is a basic 2" foamboard model. The bottom is drilled out to allow flow through the coffin bottom and the bottom also has some foam "runners" to create channels for the fog to escape nice and low.

On the inside, there are blocks to lift up a layer of chicken wire to create an expansion cavity. In the middle is the "Fogger bridge" which is designed to hold TWO of my crappy 400 watt foggers. (Only one pictured). I am thinking I may get a 700 watter instead... but I figured this way I just drop just about any fogger I want in there because these 400 watt ones seem about twice as big as any others I have seen.

Anyway... ice goes in the two cavities you can see the chicken wire in. The idea is that the fog is created in the top chamber with plenty of room to expand, gets forced through the two areas that are filled with ice and finaly sinks through the bottom of the coffin where it gets nice and spread out and ground foggy.

I dunno.... maybe it will work?

Last pic I tried to show some of the carving but I'm not sure how it came out. The very bottom is kind of "cheating" a bit, I made it smaller and it will be blacked out so it visually will dissapear I hope. That keeps the proportions of the coffin part a little better. I may or may not put some rope lights under the coffin bottom... just can't decide. How much bling can you put on a coffin?


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## phillipjmerrill (Mar 19, 2009)

Wow. That coffin looks awesome.


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## TroyO (Sep 7, 2011)

Another update.... the foam columns got a coat of paint. I will be trying some of the painting techniques I have seen on Allen H's "Youtube Wednsday" series of videos (Thanks Allen!) and so far this is just the base coat both on the columns and the coffin.








My wife had the great idea of "stringing up" the columns for paihting.... worked just dandy.

Anyho.... "Dry brushing" and "Antiquing" yet to do.... but they already look a lot more like rock than they did. I'm starting to believe.... LOL.


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## TroyO (Sep 7, 2011)

I got the coffin painted.... WOW! Those painting techniques really work! This is base coat black, an off-white dry brush followed by walnut stain and some some dark brown tipped on the highlights and in the knotholes.

It "sells" from just a couple feet away.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

I'm tickled pink.... err, well..... ashy-brown anyway.


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## tcass01 (Aug 20, 2010)

Troy, That is fantastic. Nice work on the coffin! It looks real. A real haunt centerpiece.


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## TroyO (Sep 7, 2011)

The fence is starting to go in.... 4 more fence panels and 3 columns left to play with. (I was just lazy and didn't get tthem all out, LOL.)

I do like the paint, although it may get dry brushed with some reactive paint "moss" or something.


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## Manon (Aug 2, 2011)

Dayum! The columns and the coffin look AWESOME!!! You've got the touch TroyO!


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