It is very easy to cut and carve. My husband uses an exacto knife to cut it. I am not quite strong enough to do that so I generally use the dremel tool or a teeny tiny saw from this mini tool kit my father gave me. I think that when working on Zam my tools generally consisted of the dremel with a few different attachments, a rough file for rounding edges, and a few grades of sand paper for finishing.
I would always make templates out of poster board and then trace the shape on the material with a sharpie.
We've experimented with using the heat gun to warm it up but I don't really like doing it that way. It is too easy to scorch it, which changes the texture. I usually heat it by dipping it in boiling water. After shaping it, I would then run it under cool water immediately to capture the shape I wanted.
As for painting, I'm pretty sure that I would lightly sand it and then use a coat of automotive primer before applying the actual paint. I do as much as possible with spray paint and then do weathering etc. with brushes, sponges, and so on.
Hope that helps!
