Yesterday I had my first exposure to a material we don’t use often. The brand we buy is called Ultra Board but I think it is also marketed as Gatorplast. This is a composite material composed of two very thin (.010 perhaps) polystyrene sheets laminated to a foam core. Being smooth styrene, attaching details should be easy.

We put a scrap sheet in our CNC router and cut some shapes. Our technique needs work, but it shows potential of being able to route out door and window openings for buildings. I didn’t try it yet, but we might be able to route very shallow scribe lines for siding. I will not be offering this service as machine time is very costly and it is a slow process.

I have no idea how weather proof the stuff is. I brought home a small piece of black and placed it outdoors where it will stay through the winter to see if the styrene de-laminates and how the foam holds up.

Cost is reasonable. 4’x8’x3/16" sheets of white run about $35 and black $38.

Ooh… I used something like that a few years back. Didn’t last long at all.

Duplicate.

Another duplicate.

This sounds like the same stuff Ozark Miniatures sells for their building kits. I built a barn using it, laminating it with the Precision Products’ veneer sheets. The barn’s been outdoors for 6 or 7 years now, and is every bit as strong as it was when I built it. I still prefer bluefoam because it’s cheaper and I can buy it locally, but I’m thinking of getting some larger panels for some roofs I’ll be building over the winter if I can find cut-offs of 1/4" plexi cheap enough.

Later,

K

I would hope that it’s something different. I used some 1/2" stuff covered with thin styrene when I built Mills Fuel in 2010.

That was after about a year outside. It was sure easy to work with, but didn’t hold up at all and I ended up replacing it with Sintra.

Might be the same or similar Bruce…

The manufacture’s website says “Ultra Board is designed for interior use” but they also say “The Ultra Board surface does not allow moisture to penetrate” so it is likely the foam core that is the issue outdoors.

The way you used it Bruce; as a building base; the foam edges were exposed to rain and standing water, which, along with direct ground contact, probably contributed to it’s rapid demise. I’m thinking if used vertically with the edges protected or covered it might do OK. If nothing else; the scrap I can collect might make some nice flats for my indoor division.

Well, I did seal the edges with styrene strips, but obviously did not make a water tight seal.

It did look good for awhile.(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-embarassed.gif)(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cry.gif)

OK then Yes it did look good!

How does this stuff compare to GatorBoard or GatorFoam?

Doc

According to the web, Gatorfoam and Gatorboard are interchangeable names. One website says “Gatorfoam is comprised of a wood pulp impregnated with plastic surface.” UltraBoard is 100% polystyrene.

Ultra board has been around for a little now. Looked at it and it turned me off. It’s not suited for exterior usage.

Bruce…I think your platform is warped and due to UV/heat damage not water infiltration. This is what I was talking about a few years ago when I used the non UV treated version of PVC board (also know as name brand Sintra) to build my firehouse.

Doc Watson…http://www.ultraboard.com/ultraboard/specs/

I thought it had potential - but if experience says otherwise then I will relegate what I brought home for indoor use (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-frown.gif)

I have no experience with it John so I have no idea how it would hold up outside but my guess is not long. Scott had some at his shop awhile back. I looked at it, we discussed it and it turned me off for outside year round use.

Thanks Rooster. I’ve always thought that GatorBoard was a very good material for constructing outdoor buildings. It’s very machineable with almost any shop tool. I’ve built several structures using it but I do not keep them outside. I’ve conducted a few experiments where I’ve laid several pieces of the material out on my layout for extended periods of time, like almost a year, and found no indications of de-lamination. These were small pieces so I couldn’t check for warping although I believe this could be an issue.

I believe that, if you seal any exposed edges and reinforce long sections, it could prove to be a very nice structure material but you’re going to have to add some weight if you don’t want it to blow away.

Doc Watson