One of the smartest ways to add tasteful décor and depth to a room, crown molding is a subtle alternative to many of the over-the-top embellishments some people fill their homes with. For years, moldings have been made almost exclusively from wood, resulting in a process that requires highly detailed calculations, expensive tools, and woodworking skill. Foam, on the other hand, represents a newer, simpler, and more cost-effective alternative that can give you the same look as wood without all the work.
The lightweight and flexible foam crown molding requires little more than adhesive to install and is easily cut by hand with a sharp carving knife. The “softness” of the foam means you can be generous with your cuts, as the foam will compress when it fits into a tight space, creating perfect joints and seams while hiding imperfections. Making a spongy material like foam look like a more solid product is what sometimes makes people question its ability to truly replace wood as a molding material. In reality, the process of painting foam trim gives the installer the ability to make the foam look like any other medium. In this post, I’ll show you how easy it is to paint polyurethane foam trim and end up with a beautiful new space.
There are two methods of painting foam trim, and it’s up to you to decide which is best: spray painting or brush painting. Spray painting requires less labor, fewer materials, and is faster, but it doesn’t give you maximum detail power. Brush painting allows you to replicate the design or look of any other molding medium, but is slightly more labor intensive than spray painting.
Spray Paint Foam Crown Molding
After measuring and cutting sections of foam trim, set up a work space in a well-ventilated area where accidental overspray is not a problem. Putting a large tarp or tarp in the garage, basement, or even on the ground outside on a calm day works well.
When your area is done and your trim is spaced on the canvas, apply thin, even coats, being careful not to over-saturate the foam. Like an absorbent rubber sponge, the trim will take longer to dry if you do. After painting all the pieces to your specifications and allowing the proper amount of time to dry, your crown molding is ready to mount.
As stated above, spray painting has an advantage over brush painting in terms of speed and ease. Preparing the area, painting the foam, and letting it dry are the only steps before assembly. The drawbacks of spray paint are little more than personal taste. There will be limitations to spray paint depending on the nature of its application; two-tone or intricate designs will not be practical. Also, the foam will retain its spongy appearance with the spray method. The polyurethane foam used by most manufacturers has a small enough cell structure that it is indistinguishable from a solid at the distance from which it will be viewed, but it is still a consideration.
paint foam crown molding with brush
For people who have an intricate or custom paint job in mind, or who prefer to have a solid, smooth surface on their trim, brush painting is the right choice.
Unlike spray painting, brush painting requires the foam to be coated with a thinned drywall joint compound as a sealer prior to painting to create a smooth surface. Also unlike spray paint, the trim will need to be mounted before sealing and painting. Mounting first gives you the benefit of foam’s compressibility to create clean corners and seams before curing the material with sealant and paint.
After the foam has been mounted, protect the room from the paint and joint compound with drop cloths and painter’s tape. When you are done with the prep work, prepare your drywall compound mix. You’ll want to thin it down to the consistency of paint.
Once you have finished mixing, brush a thin coat over the entire surface of the trim. Joint compound should dry quickly, so in an average-sized room, you’ll be able to start applying a second coat as soon as you finish the first go. It only takes two coats, but if you’d rather add more, go ahead. Once you have finished applying the drywall compound, give the trim a full 24 hours to dry completely.
The next day, the trim will be ready to paint. It should not be necessary to sand dry joint compound unless you find a defect. If you need to sand the compound, use the finest grit sandpaper possible and wear a respirator or face mask. When you are satisfied with the surface of the siding, proceed to paint the trim as desired. Once the paint dries, remove the drop cloths and masking tape, and you’ve got a newly transformed space that’s improved with a fraction of the time, money, and effort of traditional crown molding.
final tips
Lastly, there are a couple of tips that apply to any method of painting. First, avoid oil-based paints for foam. There’s little reason to use them anyway, since latex paints are more affordable and you won’t need weather resistance indoors. Second, the foam itself may be bright white when you first buy it. If you plan on having white crown molding, you’ll still need to paint the foam, even if it matches your room. This is because the foam will naturally yellow as it ages. This is purely a cosmetic change and does not affect quality, but by painting it you will ensure that it is always the color you want.
