# Newb tombstone questions.



## Erebus (Jul 28, 2009)

I have built a few tombstones in the past but they are starting to fall apart and really never looked that good. I have a few questions for the experts out there.
1) What glue do you use to glue the foam together at the corners?

2) What do you use to make your tombstones hard?

3) Is sand the best way to add texture to the tombstones?


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## jdubbya (Nov 6, 2005)

NTX JK said:


> I have built a few tombstones in the past but they are starting to fall apart and really never looked that good. I have a few questions for the experts out there.
> 1) What glue do you use to glue the foam together at the corners?
> 
> 2) What do you use to make your tombstones hard?
> ...


Are you using styrofooam or the foam insulation board?
I've had great results with Liquid Nails Hevey Duty Contruction adhesive. It bonds well and holds up for years.

As far as hardening up the foam, I've only run a heat gun over it lightly and it tends to shrink the skin a bit, making it a bit harder.

Sand, added to paint is okay. You can also use Dry-Lok, which already has some rough texture added in. It comes in white or gray and can be used for a base coat.

Here are a few of mine. All made with pink insulation board, glued with LN, and the two flat stones have a coat of dry-lok under the finish coat.


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## Aquayne (Sep 1, 2008)

What font do you use on the inscriptions? I love it.


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## Bone Dancer (Oct 7, 2005)

If you use liquid nail make sure it says for foam board. Regular liquid nail will dissolve the foam. Some in here use the pink foam board, I have used the white beaded foam board which is cheaper and hold up very well ( even in winter ). Also, check the paint stores in your area for "opps paint". That is paint that was returned for being the wrong color most of the time. Here it runs about $8 a gallon. You can tint it with acrylic paint from the dollar store.


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## Jaybo (Mar 2, 2009)

NTX JK said:


> I have built a few tombstones in the past but they are starting to fall apart and really never looked that good. I have a few questions for the experts out there.
> 1) What glue do you use to glue the foam together at the corners?
> 
> 2) What do you use to make your tombstones hard?
> ...


1) Liquid Nails: Projects & Foamboard Adhesive (LN-604) is used to glue the pieces together. To fill the seams at the corners between the various layers of foam, we use Elmers Carpenter Wood Filler.

Try not to use the white foam. It falls apart much easier than the pink or blue EPS foam insulation you find at Home Depot (pink) and Lowes (blue).

2) Make the stone hard...hmmm. Never really worked on this too much. Basically, after the wood filler, texturing of stone using heat and spray paint, and several layer of latex paint to seal the stone - it ends up being pretty sturdy and thick skinned. Now I wouldn't throw rocks at it or use it as a football, but it holds up pretty well.

3) Lots of people swear by Dry-Loc, which is a concrete sealer, but it's also expensive. I'm cheap. A handful of sand in your latex paint does wonders. Distressing the stone with heat, spray paint (it eats the foam), or a dremel, plus a good paint job does more for the texture than anything else.


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## jdubbya (Nov 6, 2005)

Aquayne said:


> What font do you use on the inscriptions? I love it.


Goudy Old Style (If I remember right!)


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## Dixie (Feb 18, 2009)

i have mixed Sand with Elmers Glue, 3 to 1 ratio, and added it to tombstones to seal edges and seams, it makes it VERY hard, and gives it a heavy feel. Paint goes over the sandglue very well.


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## Frankie-s Girl (Apr 5, 2009)

I use mortar mix to add grain to my paint. It works really well and I have an almost full bag (bought for a project unrelated to Halloween).

I use wall joint compound or silicone caulk to fill in any cracks or joins.

An example of the mortar mix paint and the seams were caulked:


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## Haunted Bayou (Feb 16, 2007)

I used hot glue and small nails to pin the pieces together. You have to be careful that the glue doesn't just melt the foam.

I also used wood putty in the seams and to add texture. My first tombstones were painted with flat latex paint.


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## Mortissanguine (Mar 30, 2008)

Hot wire foam factory http://hotwirefoamfactory.com/home.php has a glue that is made for foam and can be cut with a hot wire foam cutter without binding or burning. The foam cutters are also pretty nice.

In the past, before finding this company I used spray adhesive. My tombstones are VERY amateur for the most part but that is partially due to me not wanting to spend a hug amount of time on them when I had an entire garage to do. So, in essence, my stones suck but I hope the new stuff I got will take me to a higher level...

I plan on taking a class with some much more advanced tombstone makers sometime in the near future...


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## TNBrad (Sep 10, 2007)

One of the ways I made mine to help mae them a bit more durable was to coat them with WHITE school glue and the brown paper (for packages) and them coating them with MM.


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## TNBrad (Sep 10, 2007)




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## Erebus (Jul 28, 2009)

One more question, what do yall use to attached your tombstones to the ground. I usually put mine up for a few weeks before halloween (along with the other cheaper stuff like the fence, boarded up windows, etc) and I have been using short pieces of rebar but it ends up ripping through the pink foam (I am a home depot guy).


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## Jaybo (Mar 2, 2009)

NTX JK said:


> One more question, what do yall use to attached your tombstones to the ground. I usually put mine up for a few weeks before halloween (along with the other cheaper stuff like the fence, boarded up windows, etc) and I have been using short pieces of rebar but it ends up ripping through the pink foam (I am a home depot guy).


Ok, your'e in the south, so that means wimpy thin 1/2" to 3/4" foam is all we have available around here.

You need to build your stones with several layers of the pink foam. I would do at least 3 layers. Cut a notch for two 1/2" PVC pipes in the middle layer. Glue the pipes to the notched layer. You now have the PVC pipes embedded in the gravestone.

Slip the PVC over the rebar and you are done.

The PVC should look similar to the picture below.









Normally you would want the PVC flush with the bottom of your gravestone, but the one in the picture above mounts to another piece. That's why the PVC is sticking out in the picture.


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## nixie (Sep 17, 2008)

I use Tuff II foundation coating on all my foam props. It's easy to use, dries hard, is sandable and paintable. I use liquid nails as an adhesive.


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## Darkmaster (May 9, 2009)

I have had great success with pink styrofoam. Texture this with a torch, using slight heat. Add some latex paint and highlight with black spray paint to add shadows.
You can glue PVC tubes to the back of the styrofoam with silicone adhesive. This works great. Put your rebar in the ground and slip your tombstones over these rebars and that will secure them. If it is a larger size piece, you can always double up on the PVC and rebars.




 here is a link to a little demo of how my pillars for my cemetery were highlighted with a torch and router. This will give you an idea of the detail you can add.


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## Sblanck (Sep 13, 2007)

Seems that is really the issue is different locales. Being in the south myself we dont have many of the smae products that the nortern home improvement stores carry. I did find a foundation sealer but its for four gallons, I dont really need four gallons this year. I wonder if it will store for an entire year?


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## Haunted Bayou (Feb 16, 2007)

A couple of my tombstones are hollow. I stake some small rebar into the ground and slip the marker over them.


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