Bob, thanks for the painting instructions.
Joe, I found styrofoam to be a real pain.
Tim from I love bridges made some real nice retaining walls for us. His instructions were very much along the line of Bob's work. For starting to cut your basic panel sizes I share the following:
For basic cuts in sheets of green-purple-pink panels of foam I use a 6" spackle knife which provides a absolutely clean dust free smooth cut. You can also make diesel engine hand rail stuffers for safe shipping.
Just drag it lightly to make a scribe line then repeatedly retrace the line going deeper each time. Takes about 4 -5 passes for a 2" thick cut. The angle you hold the handle is very important. If the foam is crumbling your angle is wrong. Find the sweet spot and the cuts are perfect.
I cut a lot of 1" & 2" foam and this is my go to method. I recently had to make some tapered wedges and this method can be used to make feather edge slices.
For cutting deck foam edges, place the foam sheet where you want it positioned and slide a spackle knife flat against the face of the platform to create a scribe line then invert the panel and slice away.
A thin Oak fascia caps it nicely.
