i attended a seminar at haunt x (r.i.p. haunt x, you will be missed) from ralis kahn about foam fabricating and i think im gonna give it a try, but i lost my notes. if i remember corretly, hot glue the seams and coat the entire thing with spray adhesive before latex coating. does this seem right? any help would be appreciated.

no one? am i not making sense?

I am not familial wih the seminar you attended but i'm not sure why you would coat the whole thing in spray adhesive. brush on latex paint should be just fine. spray paint melt styrofoam as you probably know so maybe spray adhesive might prevent that? i have no clue but it sound fine. measure twice cut once! Good luck!

I'm not sure which type of foam you're talking about and it's important to remember what type of foam you are working with.

Many props -- are a different type of stock. Usually very coarse and many times used in silk/dried floral arrangements.  They can be coated in adhesive or other decoratives like laytex, texture paint and etc to make it look more real.

Facial foams are far more spongy and mold to the contours of the wearer - to me, it's not really a maske but more a specialized appliance.  It can be dealt with in one or two ways: Treated so when you apply makeup so it sticks or permanently painted. 

With facial foams, that are not going to be permanently painted, you have to take castor sealer so that the make up will adhere, and can be gently washed off so you can change the colors.  You usually want to use a higher end of creams/grease sticks and in some cases, airbrushed makeup to make them look good.

For those that are going to be permanently painted, they use a liquid barrier to protect the foam from deteriorating from the paint. Usually a thin layer of adhesive or a laytex allowed to dry before painting.

You can use spirit gum or the foam adhesive to attach but they do need a form (like a stand shaped like a face) to be stored properly to retain its shape. If you use facial foams, unlike laytex appliances, do not wait to clean them up -- the better you care for them, the longer they will last.  They do have a limited shelf life by comparision.

Does that help you?

thank you guys. i should have been more specific. i'm refering to upholstery foam. i seem to remember being told that the latex gets soaked up before it dries so the foam needs to be coated with spray adhesive first. as it turns out i seem to remember more about it than i first realized.