I've used Tool Dip to coat poly foam with in the past to give it a skin. Sculptor Coat is another product that works on poly foam although not really marketed for it.  Don't have the time now but I'll get some of both adhesive and coating and give it a try. I think maybe the additive "Bounce" might be advantages with poly foam.

I have a 2 foam questions.  If I wanted to make a puppet out of foam in would be from Closed cell foam?  And where are some great places to buy foam?  I still haven't made a foam puppet yet.  That's why I am asking these questions.     

Squirrely - there are several threads on foam, what to use and where to buy. Do a search in the search box.

I was glad to see the myth of polystyrene or Styrofoam being addressed by Shawn, as we have seen some great examples of puppets made with regular old white polystyrene. One such example that comes to mind is by The Puppet Co. in Maryland, which created a dwarf puppet for their production of Snow White out of polystyrene foam, which you can see featured on our gallery here:

http://hotwirefoamfactory.com/customer/gallery/prop_thepuppetco.htm



Obviously, we'd encourage you to find the right foam for your puppet, but not to count out polystyrene foams as options

Those are really cool!  Thanks for dropping in and sharing these with us.

I am looking for an Australian supplier of foam for puppet making and wonder if some of the terms you use regarding the type of foam used is different in USA than used in Australia? For example poly foam and reticulated foam. I often Google the terms used to get my answer most of the time.

The biggest issue is the best method of handling, cutting and gluing. I note that in some U Tube videos I have seen puppet makers shape a head out of a block of foam and note that the cutting blades can become dull very quickly.

We are very limited by what is stocked in our shops here on Norfolk Island so either have to rely on the shop to import it for us or source the materials ourselves.

I wrote an article a while back about foam and those terms. I dont have easy access to the link right now but the discussion that i based it on is here in the forums somewhere. Andrew from puppetvision gave the most informative answers IIRC. A search of the site should turn it up.

However most people seem to be buying from clark rubber.

Some people carve blocks, others use foam sheet. There is no right way, just depends on your preference.

Have you thought about using what is local? It may be easier to invent or do a twist on a common method with the materials available than have to try to recreate common techniques with harder to find stuff.

Dont be scared to experiment just because you think you have to do things a certain way - you dont!

I'll second the experiment idea!

Poly foam is a general term used for the type of foam used by puppeteers for hand in mouth puppets. Same thing you find in cushions and mattresses. In fact here where I live I get it from a company that supplies to companies that makes cushions for things or upholstery companies. Yes it will dull your blades very fast so best to either have a lot on hand like with razor blades for box cutters or you can use a knife that you can re-sharpen.