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Foam Tiki Totem Pole |
reinkense
Member
Joined: May 11, 2011
Posts: 2 |  Posted: 2011-05-11 11:45 am Permalink
Last night I finished making my first Tiki Totem Pole out of spray foam. I thought that I would share it with people who like all things Tiki.
If you want to make you own Tiki Totem Pole here are the directions:
Project Cost $25
Items Needed:
* 12” Diameter Concrete form
* 4 Cans Great Stuff Spray Foam
* Cardboard
* Brown Plastic Primer
* 2 Shades Of Brown Paint
* Paint Brush
* Hack Saw
* Steak Knife
Step 1
Lay concrete form on its side and brace for so it cannot roll.
Step 2
Cover the form running streams of the foam long ways across. You will need to do this in steps so you cover 1/4th of the form at a time. If you put too much on the sides it will droop. Wait for the foam to be simi-hard before turning the form and applying more foam.
Step 3
Using cardboard cutout the Tiki face and attach them to the tacky spray foam. It will stick to the foam.
Step 4
Cover the cardboard cutouts with spray foam building up the features for a 3D effect.
Step 5
After the form is completely dry (24 hrs) use a hack saw and steak knife to cut out the features for a 'wood carved' look. Cut all the rounded edges to make them flat or angular. Remove all the high points of the foam all around the form giving it a 'bark' look
Step 6
Spray paint the Tiki brown. Then use other shades of brown and black to add definition.
[ This Message was edited by: reinkense 2011-05-12 09:22 ]
[ This Message was edited by: reinkense 2011-05-12 11:33 ]
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MadDogMike
Grand Member (3 years) 
Joined: Mar 30, 2008
Posts: 6403
From: The Anvil of the Sun
| Posted: 2011-05-11 12:50 pm Permalink
Welcome to TC Reinkense.
Your tiki reminds me of a Fern Wood Tiki. You could also paint it with a dark color and rub it off to accentuate the texture.
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Clay, the oldest and most divine art media;
"And now, from the clay of the ground, the Lord God formed man" Genesis 2:7
Pirate Ship Tree House
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peacefrogman
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Jul 25, 2010
Posts: 15
From: Augusta GA
| Posted: 2011-05-11 8:01 pm Permalink
That's a great idea, I can't wait to try it. I also want to drill some holes partially through the foam and insert some LED's in the eyes and mouth.
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mieko
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 01, 2006
Posts: 531
From: San Diego
| Posted: 2011-05-13 06:58 am Permalink
That's great! Thanks for the details and the photos. That's a great way to make a lightweight tiki that would be good for stage decorations.
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metikigal
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Mar 25, 2011
Posts: 19
From: Indialantic, Florida
| Posted: 2011-05-13 08:43 am Permalink
That looks great. I might give this a try, you make it look easy. I'm very DIY challenged - what would you say if the difficulty rating on a scale of 1-10?
_________________
Keep your tiki mugs filled and be on the lookout for The Metiki Gal!
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EyeballJohn
Grand Member (2 years) 
Joined: Jun 24, 2005
Posts: 27
From: Long Island NY
| Posted: 2011-05-14 06:11 am Permalink
Here are a few pics of the foam Tikis I made using the spray foam and carving out the shapes along with a lot of sanding, you can coat the foam with a house exterior paint to seal the foam and then spray or brush on other paints that would normally melt the foam, I covered mine with fiberglass I do a lot of carving using differnt foams take a look.
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NIxxon
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Dec 22, 2010
Posts: 489 | Posted: 2011-05-15 3:45 pm Permalink
those look really cool! Nice job! Seems as if the foam is pretty user friendly
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NIxxon
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Dec 22, 2010
Posts: 489 | Posted: 2011-05-15 3:47 pm Permalink
WoRD
[ This Message was edited by: NIxxon 2011-05-15 15:47 ]
[ This Message was edited by: NIxxon 2011-05-15 15:50 ]
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reinkense
Member
Joined: May 11, 2011
Posts: 2 | Posted: 2011-05-16 10:23 am Permalink
Quote:
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On 2011-05-13 08:43, metikigal wrote:
That looks great. I might give this a try, you make it look easy. I'm very DIY challenged - what would you say if the difficulty rating on a scale of 1-10?
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I would say it is a 4 on the difficulty scale. Because you cut out the expression before applying the spray foam it is easy to carve the face. The most difficult thing is to wait for the foam to dry between layers.
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Tiki-Atari
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 06, 2007
Posts: 121
From: Atlanta
| Posted: 2011-05-16 12:10 pm Permalink
Here are a few pics of the foam Tikis I made using the spray foam and carving out the shapes along with a lot of sanding, you can coat the foam with a house exterior paint to seal the foam and then spray or brush on other paints that would normally melt the foam, I covered mine with fiberglass I do a lot of carving using differnt foams take a look.
Those look great!
Any time I try using great stuff foam as a base I get a LOT of squiggles and air pockets. Your result looks like it went on much cleaner before you cut and sanded it down. How do you spray the stuff on in the first place?
Thanks!
Jonathan
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EyeballJohn
Grand Member (2 years)
Joined: Jun 24, 2005
Posts: 27
From: Long Island NY
| Posted: 2011-05-16 3:28 pm Permalink
The Tikis don't start out looking like much of anything but foam, I spray the foam in tight lines to start then I will add highlites with more foam and then start cutting and sanding my shapes, sometimes I will draw out on the tubes the shape and folow along with the foam, I couldn't find any start pics of the 4 foot Tiki totem but here are some in progress shots along with a starting shot of the 2 foot Tiki, I never carved wood but have done a lot of foam carving, in New York its easier to find spray foam then it is to find a palm tree 
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EyeballJohn
Grand Member (2 years)
Joined: Jun 24, 2005
Posts: 27
From: Long Island NY
| Posted: 2011-05-29 10:39 am Permalink
Just finished another foam Tiki, this time I made a Moai head using a cardboard tube, pink insulation foam, spray foam, bondo and polyester primer as a top coat, take a look, Later Eyeball
 
 
 
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