Welcome to the Tiki Central 2.0 Beta. Read the announcement
Tiki Central logo
Celebrating classic and modern Polynesian Pop

Tiki Central / Tiki Carving

Foam Tiki Totem Pole

Pages: 1 13 replies

R
reinkense posted on 05/11/2011

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.

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/66061/4dcc092d.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=ad97bc830dae1dafe90c9706eb0f51b0

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/66061/4dcad8bb.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=cfc287552355d94c7dd9f2e2cc0b6594

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/66061/4dcad8c7.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=424c6409c553fd0bc9d5c348612c5e47

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/66061/4dcad8d3.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=f471e41a0cbb9c0e33c8605294fee489

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/66061/4dcad8df.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=1873d5bcaa4915bb209bb82a5ecbd649

[ Edited by: reinkense 2011-05-12 09:22 ]

[ Edited by: reinkense 2011-05-12 11:33 ]

M Image Missing: https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/b9f394dc69a9134df062764ec9564ebf?d=blank&s=192&fit=fill
MadDogMike posted on 05/11/2011

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.

P Image Missing: https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/90fdebaea6c278c1c9ab8a97d341c70a?d=blank&s=192&fit=fill
peacefrogman posted on 05/12/2011

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.

M Image Missing: https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/036ef64f95f78ee4b4bb5dba389843ee?d=blank&s=192&fit=fill
mieko posted on 05/13/2011

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.

M Image Missing: https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/9c204991595dde0b19ffea2ed3c65581?d=blank&s=192&fit=fill
metikigal posted on 05/13/2011

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?

E Image Missing: https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/1140ab53178e3e32c7ba0d7ac55f1a9a?d=blank&s=192&fit=fill
EyeballJohn posted on 05/14/2011

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.

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/3445/4dce7e6f.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=189c05cb205c094c49154438c9922cc9

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/3445/4dce7ebb.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=1c577bf34624600daafc80c27ff1b3de

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/3445/4dce7ef9.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=49002582759411bd5829b7cda76cbead

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/3445/4dce7f23.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=e7af28cfdaf85d37210807dc0d36bcbb

N Image Missing: https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/178b4515efc0ec25d9b29ff6f1491a45?d=blank&s=192&fit=fill
NIxxon posted on 05/15/2011

those look really cool! Nice job! Seems as if the foam is pretty user friendly

N Image Missing: https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/178b4515efc0ec25d9b29ff6f1491a45?d=blank&s=192&fit=fill
NIxxon posted on 05/15/2011

WoRD
[ Edited by: NIxxon 2011-05-15 15:47 ]

[ Edited by: NIxxon 2011-05-15 15:50 ]

R
reinkense posted on 05/16/2011

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?

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.

T Image Missing: https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/8ef03d1a90e3e94a58f34304512d6e9d?d=blank&s=192&fit=fill
Tiki-Atari posted on 05/16/2011

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

E Image Missing: https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/1140ab53178e3e32c7ba0d7ac55f1a9a?d=blank&s=192&fit=fill
EyeballJohn posted on 05/16/2011

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 :)

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/3445/4dd1a3c7.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=c74a57d54c1bed8c85117fc4dc514526

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/3445/4dd1a40b.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=2bfdcf44ab0e323df0d745a0755dfe16

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/3445/4dd1a476.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=9b73a1f14f221c76e6c3f6e2849109c8

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/3445/4dd1a4c4.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=d79f4a3f3bfcaa6e66baa5d4346986d3

E Image Missing: https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/1140ab53178e3e32c7ba0d7ac55f1a9a?d=blank&s=192&fit=fill
EyeballJohn posted on 05/29/2011

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

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/3445/4de2835b.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=614898f3d2201de47b6c9f70aa424458 Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/3445/4de283ac.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=99d55ad7c93a72971d04a6332a91ba47

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/3445/4de283e9.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=1cee8452e4985316959b80ca92cbd8e2 Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/3445/4de2845c.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=bf12125f5dc66275042e7ecdba03c4dd

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/3445/4de28484.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=afb01b9a218157e1bfb523270e41460b Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/3445/4de284b3.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=09281f59ac114ba66e3a7524f1960dcf

B Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/84571/62a8c612906d1.jpg?sharp=10&fit=crop&w=96&h=96&s=fe0814b223749e9f6ab276578b2dc0dd
bobotron posted on 05/20/2019

You guys were my inspiration to create this spray foam fireplace cover! Thanks for the tips!

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/84571/5ce2c321.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=7b6b6095151ba642debd7749089f007d
Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/84571/5ce2c57b.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=18deb44472ab2029cd4387728cb01961

Carved and ready to paint. I ended up spackling the whole thing because I spackled a few spots I wantd to fix, but the texture was different after spray painting and even brush painting with latex. So I spackled the whole thing for texture consistency. I wish I never spackled any of it and left the imperfections because the cut foam had a more "sponge" like appearance. Would have looked more like lava stone IMO if I left it alone. I just used a big serrated bread knife for all the carving. Definitely needs to be serrated as a plain knife just wants to push the foam and tear it.

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/84571/5ce2c5a0.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=7738aab5dc006fe4ef7fda2f18a39516

Spraying and carving. I did parts of it so I could follow my pattern on the cardboard. Doing it again, I think I would try just spray foaming the whole board, draw the design on the foam, and carve all at once.

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/84571/5ce2c645.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=6e8f15b79c09abe8c66e8bfc413d2a63

My template. A piece of cardboard taped to the fireplace glass. If it wasn't for the curve of the glass, I may have just bought a piece of the thick pink foam and carved that instead. (Don't worry. The only place that even gets warm on this is coming out the top. So nothing on this addition will be in the heat).

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/84571/5ce2c6a5.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=56d91f41ac9cedd7bed455b7ce01e4e2

Note I had some extra foam left in the can, so I sprayed a bunch on a piece of cardboard to make a smaller face, instead of throwing it away. But, I came out the next day and the cardboard was all curled from the drying process. SO, if you opt for some sort of backing, make sure its firm enough that it doesn't bend easily while curing.

T Image Missing: https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/411dc4749d13210b5c8781dacaeb5e12?d=blank&s=192&fit=fill
tikirancher posted on 07/02/2019

I make foam tikis for those that can't or don't have the time. Check out http://www.tikirancher.com for more details

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/76074/5d1b5503.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=90a7da3029c8e14e57dbd3616d9bad14

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/76074/5d1b522f.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=b6b49e2fc36dded96fac22cc9ded74e3

Pages: 1 13 replies