Thanks for your help

MDF looks like MDF.
Foam looks like foam.
Wood looks like wood.

If you can't tell the difference, go with the foam.

As for the removal and wall damage, how many times does one remove crown molding and not do more extensive reworking?

Use the foam.

Am thinking about using the Creative Crown.

DL

Also, I found a blog that talks about tip just like this. Good tips so far for beginners.

What if it's skim coated with drywall mud before painting?

Just a thought.

I only use plaster moulding as buyers will sneer at any imitations--even if they're fooled by it. (Probably the same people who don't realize that faux finish marble is often as expensive as actual marble.)

You will round over edges and destroy and detail.

It will look even worse.

The chief problem with foam is the lack of the sharp corners that you get with wood.

Even MDF tend to have problems with sharp corners.

I bought Creative Crown Molding for two rooms and love it so much we are going to do two more!

It's easier to work with, it's cheaper and it looks great.

The cost of $2.00 per linear foot is comparable to many mdf and polystyrene molding. Plus to ship a package containing
8 6.5 foot lengths from Texas to the east cost was $41.00.

So to do a 10 x 13 room... cost of materials $200.00
Not including primer, paint, adhesive.

Creative Crown WAS selling on their website www.creativecrown.com but now redirects purchasers to two
other distributors www.sosimplecrown.com and www.foamcrownmolding.com plus a bunch of information URL's to make it look bigger. The product is manufactured in Germany.

I ordered corners... thinking they were corner BLOCKS. Silly me.. all creative crown did was miter 8 pieces to make
4 corners. For this they charged $22.00

The quality of material left a lot to be desired. Yes this is foam cell, like the stuff used for packaging. I had to
sand all the pieces and wipe them down to remove the foam bits and dust.

The first coat of water based primer showed ALL of the imperfections of which there were MANY. These pieces were not pristine, each had small dents, gouges. high spots which require sanding down or filling in. These pieces are NOT ready to install out of the box unless as a homeowner you don't take pride in your work. And if I had to put this up for a client... I wouldn't !!!

Haven't put them up yet, so can't tell how they will look or if the seams can be concealed. I'll update this post as
work progresses.

Definitely NOT an alternative to wood or polystyrene.

This IS lightweight, and go up with construction adhesive. Which basically says... YOU"VE RUINED YOUR CEILING IF YOU HAVE TO TAKE DOWN A BROKEN PIECE OR DECIDE TO GO WITH A DIFFERENT LOOK.

Wood and polystyrene go up with nails and fasteners.. easy
to patch the nail holes. This stuff goes up with construction adhesive and caulking which is a real bear to remove from a surface.

Don't hit it with a broom handle when dusting your ceiling. Don't use oil-based primers, paints or sprays.

Thankfully I only purchased enough for one room and will look into the more traditional methods for all the other rooms.

If you have a small informal room and use a simple pattern
this might still work for you especially if you're on a limited budget, BUT in the long run it would be less expensive to go with more durable materials. Having used
this stuff, I would consider it a liability if I saw it
in a house. A cheap quick fix.

Problem #1 butting two seams together... and one piece of molding is LARGER than the other one by almost 3/16 of an inch... it looks like almost 3 different batches of molding are here... none match. There is a noticeable
different in dimensions where seams butt. It ain't seamless !!

Problem #2 The DVD showed CORNER BLOCKS. Instead they ship SHORT PIECES which are mitered. This adds TWO ADDITIONAL SEAMS TO EVERY WALL. CCM13 Santa Fe is a raised intricate pattern, seams are difficult to match up.

Problem #3 This stuff is super easy to dent. Installation instructions say " Lay a bead of construction adhesive about the thickness of a pencil along the edge". TWO problems here.... pushing the piece up against the wall with
enough pressure to distribute the glue and seat it properly also put dents ALL over as you push each section into place.
The foam surface which was somewhat dented already now looks positively distressed in several places. Also that
bead of construction adhesive is so excessive, it goes all over the place, requiring massive cleanup off ceiling. AND if you JUST PAINTED your ceiling... it means you've now FLASHED the paint job and need to do it over again... Another couple of hundred dollars shot to save a few bucks.

A few nice things to say... you can trim this with a razor
knife and a pair of kitchen scissors.

Well the molding is up on the wall... and I've started spackling which takes 1 to 5 hours to dry before recoating or painting. Because of the intricate pattern " Sunflowers and Vines a.k.a. 'Santa Fe" I loaded each seam
extra high and will use a dremel tool to smooth the design
and layer over the covered opening... hoping to make the
seams invisible.

After rechecking the website.. Creative Crown no longer carries ANY of the Villa Deco moulding.. looks like they completely got rid of their product line. I wonder why ??

So my final opinion... This is a product that belongs on Saturday afternoon info-mercials along with george foreman grills and electric hot dog cookers. It COULD be useful for
someone looking to flip a house and in a residence where foam molding would not look out of place, but in mid-scale or upscale houses...this is definitely NOT the product.

My fallback position ?? If after spackling, sanding and painting it still looks terrible then I'll cut through the
adhesive with a putty knife.. scrape off the remaining adhesive, throw this stuff in the trash and replace with
a higher quality product. One thing is for sure... this
won't be used in the other rooms... another expensive lesson learned !!