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Gatorboard Technical Bulletin

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  [Gatorboard Handling & Cutting]

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CUTTING

GENERAL:
The ideal cutting of Gatorfoam is done with equipment normally used in woodworking, but it may also be cut satisfactorily with hand tools and other specialty tools.  [Gatorfoam Price List]

POWER TOOL CUTTING:
CIRCULAR SAWS - Since Gatorfoam is wood like, it may be cut with standard table saws. For best results consult your tool supplier for specific recommendations.  Blades designed for cutting Gatorplast can now purchased from General Saw of Cape Coral, Florida.. www.generalsaw.com <http://www.generalsaw.com> or from other manufacturers of quality saw blades. General Saw Corporation has also engineered saw blades to cleanly cut other foam-centered materials, such as: Gatorboard®, Foam-cor® and Foam-X®, Dibond ®, and Sintra ®.

BAND SAWS - Gatorfoam may also be cut with a band saw, however, the blade should be thin with the finest teeth possible.

ROUTERS AND SHAPERS - Irregular cuts and shapes may be cut with a standard wood router. The tool should have as many wings as possible with positive rake hook angle and face shear for smooth, clean cuts.

SPECIALTY TOOLS - Due to its versatility, the Cutawl Precision Power Tool, Model K-11 is good for irregular shapes. For specific cutting recommendations, the equipment manufacturer should be contacted. The Cutawl is manufactured by the Cutawl Company, Bethel, Connecticut, 06801(203) 792-8622.

DIE CUTTING AND GUILLOTINE CUTTING:
A method for successfully cutting Gatorfoam with Guillotine or die cutting equipment has not been identified.

HAND CUTTING:
While Gatorfoam can be cut by hand, the strength of the face surface makes it difficult. If there is very much detail in the pattern to be cut, other methods of machining are more desirable. For straight cutting by hand, best results have been achieved with knives with thin, short blades (i.e. paper knife #1 -R, Blade #2, Hyde Manufacturing Company, Southbridge, Massachusetts, 01550.)

LAMINATING/GLUING

Other Adhesives - The panel surface must be sanded in the area where gluing is to occur. The sanding "breaks" the laminate surface and allows for more adhesive "bite".

METHOD OF APPLICATION:
Roll Coater, Spray, Paint Roller, Paint Brush

LAMINATING:
The adhesive chosen will dictate application technique, cure time and bond quality. Consult your adhesive manufacturer for specific recommendations.

Laminating Fabric (Velcro, etc.) - For best results:

1. Use water base glue for indoor-outdoor carpet (Roberts #3055 or comparable).
2. Apply with fine notched trowel (1/16" sq.) thin uniform coat. Avoid large amount as bleed through can occur.
3. Use rubber brayer to roll down fabric - let dry 24 hours.

PAINTING:
Gatorfoam needs no special preparation before priming or painting. The surface should of course, be kept clean and free of any oil contaminates as with any other surface to be painted. If the surface has become lightly soiled or scratched, it may be hand sanded with a silicon carbide dry paper 180 grit or finer. After sanding, be sure to clean surface well to remove any dust particles. For optimum results, we recommend that the surface be sealed with a good primer. See following section on "Paint System".

TYPE OF PAINT:
To date, these types of paints have been used very successfully:

Caution should be exercised, however, when using oil base or solvent base systems, not to allow paint to make contact with the polystyrene foam. These types of paints are likely to attack and deteriorate the foam core.

METHOD OF APPLICATION:
Any of these common methods of applying paint may be used:

Spray Coating, Roll Coating, Brushing

Spray coating normally offers the best all-around results with smoother, more uniform coverage. Curtain coating is not recommended due to a bubbling action created in the paint. The bubbling is caused by an air displacement and solvent flashing situation when applying a high volume of paint so quickly. This problem may be minimized by specifying flat pigment and slower solvents in the paint or by using water base paints.

PAINT SYSTEM:
The paint system may vary depending on the individual requirement or desirability. There are currently a wide range of systems in use. These include:

      Any good grade of paint from a reputable manufacturer would be adequate. In cases where the foam edges might be subjected to exterior exposure, it will be necessary to protect the edges from deterioration by the high intensity ultra-violet light from the sun. A good coating of a pigmented water-base paint or similar UV barrier should be sufficient to provide this protection (please note that in exterior applications, edges must be inspected and touched up as necessary). From time to time, customers have experienced problems from UV penetration due to insufficient UV inhibiting pigment in the paint. This is particularly true with darker colors, i.e. dark red, deep brown, black, etc. If such colors are used and exposed edges of foam are not covered with a water base paint that has a heavy load of UV inhibiting pigment or with a good quality UV barrier, we will not be liable in the event of a foam/glue line failure. For full information on UV inhibitors contact your paint suppliers. Since a Gatorfoam panel is of a combustible nature and will burn readily if it comes in contact with an open flame, to avoid a hazard from fire, we suggest that all exposed surfaces be coated with a minimum of 3.5 mils of an Underwriter's Laboratories approved in tumescent (fire retardant) coating in all interior applications to reduce the risk of accidental ignition. Contact your local paint dealer for information or sources of these paints.

DRYING:
Drying by oxidation and evaporation is preferred. When it is possible, allow the freshly painted Gatorfoam to dry the length of time suggested by the particular paint manufacturer.

If forced drying by hot air ovens is used, sufficient flash time should be allowed in order to prevent blistering of paint. This is usually approximately ten minutes. Oven temperatures must be controlled to a maximum of 180 F for 1 1/2 minutes to prevent deterioration of foam and possible warpage of the Gatorfoam panel.

PHOTO MOUNTING

GENERAL:
Black, White and Natural Gatorfoam has been successfully used by photo mounters for several years but experience has proven that the natural and white face provide a better surface for photo mounting. The white face has a harder surface that may require sanding before applying adhesive to insure a good bond. Gatorfoam Natural offers the best surface for uniformly bonding of the pressure sensitive films with little or no surface preparation (i.e. sanding).

Black Gatorfoam requires careful mounting particularly in low humidity conditions (such as indoors in cold climates). The finest quality mounting films are recommended. Surfaces should be carefully prepared before mounting.

SURFACE PREPARATION:
The surface should be clean and free of any dust, trash, oil or other contaminates prior to mounting. Gatorfoam may require lightly sanding of the surface for a good adhesive "bite". If you sand, take extra precaution to remove sanding dust prior to mounting.

DRY MOUNTING PRESS: (Heat Method)

1. Maximum temperature not to exceed 1 80"F
2. Maximum pressure not to exceed 15 PSI. (Panel Pressure)
3. Maximum time not to exceed three minutes.
4. Panels in excess of 3/16" thick should be placed in the press and pre-heated prior to mounting.

For best results contact the supplier of the laminating material for their recommendations.

PRESSURE-SENSITIVE MOUNTING:

1. The choice of films is "the most important" consideration when using pressure sensitive film for mounting photographs to Gatorfoam. Before using any pressure sensitive material, please contact the manufacturer for recommendations concerning the use of their respective laminating materials in conjunction with Gatorfoam.
   
2. For best results the use of equipment specifically designed to apply these pressure sensitive films should be used.
   
3. When using pressure sensitive films, Gatorfoam should be at room temperature in order to achieve optimal results.

4.  

Conservation mounting requires special materials to ensure that the art to be preserved will remain undamaged in the future. Many major museums have successfully used Gatorfoam to mount exhibitions for many years.

Testing at both room temperature and 150 F resulted in out gassing at the parts per hundred million range only. The base paper used in Gatorfoam are in the acidic range, however, the saturation process reduces the mobility of the acid. The average pH of the finished Luxcell facers is 6.5 - 7.0 pH. For long term storage, protection should be provided from ultraviolet light.

CAUTION: Since long term results are not available, use with artifacts of metal composition could have chloride reactions.

WARPAGE:
Gatorfoam panels are manufactured flat and graded for flatness prior to packaging. However, like other panel products they may bow under certain conditions. Potential for bowing is much greater in the thinner panels and in full 4' x 8' unsupported panels especially on panels that are treated differently on one side than on the other, i.e. laminating materials to one side only or exposing one side to a higher heat source or humidity than the other side. We suggest that similar precautions for controlling bowing be taken with Gatorfoam panels as would be taken with any other panel product. For extremely critical applications, we recommend using 3/4" or thicker. With panels that are covered over 60% of the surface area, it is advisable to similarly coat the opposite side.

SCREEN PRINTING

GENERAL:
Gatorfoam panels are rigid, lightweight and easy to handle. Widely used in the screen print industry the suppliers of equipment and inks can provide you with specific recommendations to achieve maximum results. In 2003 the Gatorfoam white facer was upgraded to a new bright white color. This new bright white color provides a superior color to direct print over. With the Bright White Gatorfoam direct print graphics have a very eye popping appearance. We recommend that the white face be used with the following surface preparations and drying process.

SURFACE PREPARATION:
For optimal results in screening on Gatorfoam panels, we recommend that the panel be sealed with a clear sealer prior to the base coat. The surface should, of course, be cleaned and free of any surface contaminates (i.e. oils, dust particles, etc.) prior to sealing. If surface has become soiled or scratched, it may be lightly hand sanded with a silicon carbide dry paper 180 grit or finer. To avoid clogging of screens be sure that loose dust from sanding is completely removed from panels.

DRYING:
Drying by oxidation and evaporation is preferred when it is possible, to allow the freshly printed Gatorfoam to dry the length of time suggested by the particular ink manufacturer.

If forced drying by hot air ovens is used, sufficient flash time should be allowed in order to prevent blistering. . Oven temperature must be controlled to a maximum of 180 F for 1 1/2 minutes to prevent deterioration of foam and possible warp age of the Gatorfoam panel. When using ambient drying racks, drying time is usually approximately ten minutes.

ULTRA VIOLET INKS:
While experience has shown that Gatorfoam does not offer a good surface for ultra violet inks, several major screen printers are currently printing onto a coated paper and laminating to the natural face Gatorfoam. The lower price of the natural face product helps offset the additional costs of laminating. See our section on "Photo Mounting" opposite page.

STRENGTH LIMITATIONS:
Below are results of testing performed on the five thicknesses of Gatorfoam that we manufacture. The test procedure involved measuring the force required to flex a given length of Gatorfoam to 2", 4" and 6" away from horizontal. The force was applied to a 144 inch square (12" x 12") area in the middle of a 36" span. Sample length was 48" with a 12" width. Only 3/16" Gatorfoam would flex beyond 2" from horizontal. All other thicknesses broke either before or just after 2" had been reached.

OVERSIZE PANELS

GENERAL:
From time to time, certain creative applications require a panel larger than 48" x 96". This can be accomplished by butt joining panels of Gatorfoam. The following are our suggestions for permanently bonding two or more panels to make one oversize sheet. This is the procedure used by various fabricators.

BONDING DIRECTIONS:

1. Miter edges of the two ends to be joined.
2. Align and then drill or rout holes for multiple dowels in both pieces of Gatorfoam.
3. Set dowels into first piece using a white polyvinyl acetate glue. Allow to dry thoroughly.
4. Using water base contact cement, coat both mitered edges with a very thin coating of glue. Let dry until there is no tack when you touch the glue.
5. Insert dowels into holes in second piece after dropping a small amount of the white glue into each hole. Press glued edges of foam firmly together.
6. For extra smoothness of face surface, fill the seam with a spackling compound and sand with a fine grit sandpaper.

ARTIST WORK:

How to cut foam core neatly:

To cut foam core neatly there are only 2 pieces of equipment necessary; a metal ruler and an extremely sharp blade. I prefer a cutter (the type that requires that you break off a section of the blade when you want to sharpen the tool). The reason I prefer these is that, with an X-Acto knife you have to purchase a new blade every time one gets dull. When cutting foam core I strongly recommend that you change your blade no less often than once every 8 cuts. That's a lot of blades to buy! If you're using a cutter you just break off the end and proceed with your next cut. My personal favorite is called Auto-Lock because it is a more substantial weight and construction than most and it is comfortable in my hand. I bought it from a regular office supply store.

USING GAPOXIO(tm) WITH GATORFOAM And other thin materials.

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