These are my attempts...

So dollar tree foam board it is!

Guess I'll have to start building soon. Just order a case (50 sheets) for store pickup. Hopefully they don't crush the box. Price is $50 + $4.95 handling + tax. Ordered at Dollartree.com

I accidentally discovered a good way to remove the paper from the dollar tree foam.

After putting a layer of .56 ounce fiberglass on a GWS bird with some Minwax water-based polyurethane I had the brilliant idea of hitting some of my Dollar Tree foam parts with some WBPU to "help the paper stay on better after flying in damp weather." Well, as it turned out it didn't work as I expected. After the WBPU dried, the paper peeled off like a post-it note. Downside was that I lost the little strength the paper added. Upside was it was very easy to remove the paper.

Since then, I found that simply wetting the paper and letting it dry completely (so the paper doesn't tear) has a similar effect. The paper comes off easily.

If you fly these Dollar Tree foam planes with the paper in damp weather I found that the paper tends to collect the moisture and the planes start to get heavy. After the paper dries out it tends to "fall off." An example: My pop built a small park-sized plane out of the Dollar Tree foam and went out to fly it one "wet" afternoon. First few minutes the plane flew normally, but after that it started flying "heavy." Feeling brave he continued to fly it, but after a few more minutes and a somewhat high-G turn he folded a wing. Thanks to practice with RealFlight he was able to actually fly the plane with the limp wing and land it on the runway (a bit of knife edge practice and luck). Good job Pops!

I've been messing around with different lightweight coverings to replace the paper. Basically cut out your parts with the paper on. Then scrub the parts with a soft brush and tap water. Let them dry overnight and peel the paper. I have been using Econokote and covering the de-papered foam parts to regain the strength. The plastic covered parts come out lighter than the paper covered parts and seem to be a bit stronger. They will definitely handle damp weather better.

Just some thoughts. I thought I'd share.

EDIT: If you want to remove the paper from the Dollar Tree foam, by far the best method I've discovered is to paint your parts with WBPU and let it cure. The WBPU helps prevent the paper from tearing when its removed. The water helps dilute the glue. The paper comes off like a post-it note in a single sheet. If you don't want to waste your WBPU, simply scrubbing the paper-covered parts with tap water works well if you let the parts completely dry before attempting to remove the paper. If the paper is wet when you attempt to remove it, it tears easily.

just make sure when using dollar tree foam that you add in the thickness differences when building with plans that are designed for building with 6MM foam because the dollar tree foam is only 4.5 MM
just something to keep in mind.
but Ya dollar tree foam is good stuff to build with.

Does anybody know what the weight is for an average sheet of dollar tree foam(paper on) vs. one without paper?

I don't have an "average". But here is my measurement from one sheet:

142 g. vs. 83 g.
[Thickness] [Sample sq"] [Weight (g)] [g/sq"] [g/cu"]

Dollar Tree Readiboard 0.130 600 83 0.138 1.064
Dollar Tree Readiboard w/skin 0.190 600 142 0.237 1.246

Walt

Ok thanks.
BTW I love kokapelis (spelling?)

I'm not too sure what a full sheet of Dollar Tree foam board weighs, but I do know that if you strip the paper off and recover it with Econokote (or other light film covering) it comes out lighter and stronger than with the paper. (... and the covering doesn't soak up moisture)

Here's a photo of my pops newest Dollar Tree foam plane. Has the paper peeled off and replaced with Olive Drab and Gray Monokote. The plane flew great until my nephew put it into a tree!

I wish all my tree landings were that low LOL

Does anybody know how much weight Econokote adds?
Walt

EDIT: Tower Hobbies says that it is 0.2 oz/ sqFt - not bad, that is 6 1/2 g. per sq. ft.
That is about half of what the two layers of paper weigh.
Whoops, not so good, if you put it on both surfaces of the wing, you are back to the old weight.
Oh well, at least it doesn't absorb water.

Originally Posted by RogueTitan

just make sure when using dollar tree foam that you add in the thickness differences when building with plans that are designed for building with 6MM foam because the dollar tree foam is only 4.5 MM
just something to keep in mind.
but Ya dollar tree foam is good stuff to build with.

That works perfectly with Tony's plans (designed for 6 mil) at 75%!

I built my first scartch build out of that foam the other day.It was a 6mmflyrc.com eurofighter.I still have to add power gear.cant wait to fly it=)

And what do u guys use to paint that foam???I tried normal spray paint and it totaly warped.......like almost in half.

Originally Posted by planeflyer94

And what do u guys use to paint that foam???I tried normal spray paint and it totaly warped.......like almost in half.

Well, I use Testor's model masters paint. It's kind of expensive and you only get small cans, but it works well on foam and even tape. Most hobby shops cary it.

Plane: the trick with spray cans and any foam is to do VERY dry, light sprays. Do couple of coats that way, and if you don't get enough color, try a little bit heavier coat. But you will run the risk of warps & melting the foam. I think the problem is about half paint solvent, and half propellant. If you want really bright colors, try the craft acrylics (apple?) that walmart sells with airbrush or brush. You can lay them down heavier.