With all of the buck stations in place, I can examine the two halves of this project for symmetry. The best way to do this is by clamping the two halves together and carefully examining the big picture. I also use a ruler and check the basic measurements of buck stations that I consider critical to the final outcome. These don’t have to be perfect, but it should be pretty close, more symmetry at this point will insure a greater ease of building this model in the later stages. Once I am comfortable with the symmetry, I can move on and start filling the two halves with dry floral foam.
Filling the voids with dry floral foam is easy. I simply push the foam into the forms in away that provides the best use for each foam block. When necessary, I use an adhesive to secure the foam to the developing plug. I find that using regular automotive bondo as an adhesive is an excellent way to attach this foam to anything. It holds strong, cures fast and is cheap compared to epoxy adhesives.
After I have a few blocks of foam in place, I like to rough trim the foam with a blade to make it easier to work with. Trimming can be done with a sawing motion using any type of serrated blade. Usually I use a hacksaw blade but a serrated steak knife works well too. I continue adding foam until all the stations are full.
After the foam is installed, I can sand the foam down to the level of the buck stations. This is a simple and fast procedure. I usually use a sixty grit paper to do this job. Once the bulk of the foam is removed, I will use a medium grit paper to do any fine shaping.
Happy Glassing
Steve
