Just wondering if you guys had any ideas. Basically I have a wood frame door that snaps into place with magnets. Think of it like this: you have 2x 1 1/2" wide pieces of wood that are 1/8" thick. These two pieces of wood have strong magnets attached to the outsides so they snap together tightly. Between the wood should be a nice spongey foam that blocks light. It works really well, but there are still some light leaks (around the corners mostly, where the wood boards meet and are slightly uneven) so I thought of finding a good spongey foam material I can attach to the frame that will fill the cracks and block light. As of now I have this 1/8" neoprene foam tape which works ok but is not really thick enough. It's the same kind of rubbery foam that those circle cloner inserts are made of. I've found some 1/4" - 1/2" neoprene foam on Amazon that I may try, but I am a little iffy on it because some comments say that it's not the best for compression. I would hate for the foam to be squashed over time, reducing the light blocking. My best bet so far is using that; I could always cut it so some of the material hangs off the edge; that way if it does get compressed over time the parts that are hanging off the frame (not being squashed by the wood) should still be thicker and puffy, hopefully blocking the light. Anyone have any ideas? I thought of using that foam insulation used for AC units but wasn't sure if it'd be light proof due to how porous and "light" it is. Weather sealing stuff, too, I am not sure if it would block all the light. The rubber weather sealing stuff isn't spongey enough and probably won't fill the small cracks/seams on the corners. I'm hesitant to try it because once the adhesive is on the wood it's not coming off and I don't want to rebuild the whole frame. I'd also hate to order something on Amazon and have it not work as I'd want. I'm just having trouble finding the right material. It should probably be about 1/4-1/2" thick and holds up very well to compression over time. Any ideas? I can get photos of the door if that will help (I was going to wait until it was done to reveal my new box), but if anyone knows of a good material please let me know. Thank you! Does all that make sense?
Air conditioner section at lowes has all sizes of foams for sealing around a window a/c unit .. If it becomes a real issue you can buy foam sheets at any thickness and cut them to size then glue them..
So those AC foam pieces are completely opaque and light proof? That was my main concern with those, but if they are that would be quite convenient!
Some are some aren't .. Both compress down and are about 90% opaque.. Only reason I knowbis because I made a pkywood door.. You can take an easier route and buy a small sheet of white poly film and a zipper and light proof from the inside.. Which is what I did .. Got tired of painting lol
Cool I'll give that a shot. I think I can test it out before gluing to the frame, so worst case I can just return it or use for something else. I'll have to try and find one that is darker or thicker.. with the compression hopefully it is fully light proof - thanks! Any other suggestions I'm all ears!
Yeah I was going to go the velcro route but opted to build a frame with powerful magnets so there is no wearing down of the adhesive backing of velcro (I know you can staple the velcro down as well... I just like to make things complicated for myself ) or the velcro itself (I know they are rated to the number of times you can pull the velcro apart. I just want this to be a permanent fixture that will not need to be updated. That's why I'm also concerned about the foam and it's ability to spring back from compression over time) So really the last thing I need for my box is a good light blocking foam. I think I might try those AC foam pieces, I'm hoping if they are compressed down to like 98% of their width they will block the light. I can have some extra foam hanging off the frame so it doesn't all get compressed, then there would be big puffy pieces still bordering around the inside of the frame... that might be my best/cheapest bet.. I also have black foam weather stripping that I may try as well... I just hate to apply an adhesive to my wood frame and then not be able to get it off or have to rebuild the frame or sand it down or something. I'm gonna have to test a couple things I think