"Help!" for: Foam
- Thread starter Carpathia
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Tigersgrace
Member
2 test pieces in one day!!! i'll post pics later
zombienoms
New Member
Sadly I already messaged him he said that he had no experience using 300 instead but wished me luck if I went that way
Hello All,
I really hope I got this in the right place. I am so confused on hardening/sealing/finishing foam armor. I know the common method is straight forward but I ran in to a hitch with Plastidip being very hard to find locally. Due to this I was doing some research and just couldn’t find the answers I wanted or a spot to discuss options. Hopefully I can here without violating any of the rules.
What I have foundso far:
Methods – PVA, Plastidip, Smooth On 65D, Styrospray, and finally SmoothOn Epsilon.
PVA - needs no discussion.
Plastidip – How far does a spray can go? How much do people usually use for complete suit?
Styrospray – Discussed once by Cujo3131 (I think) but never a conclusion or anyone else using it or discussing it. How come?
Smooth On 65D – Xrobot, straight forward enough but no examples of final results on a whole suit or methods (how to fix that dripping problem in the video?)
Smooth On Epsilon – Only one mention online (RPF and deviant art). Looks great to be honest but I can’t find it anywhere for sale
This is where I am at. Anyone have two cents they are willing to share or point me somewhere to help me with my final choice? Either way thanks for taking a look.
I really hope I got this in the right place. I am so confused on hardening/sealing/finishing foam armor. I know the common method is straight forward but I ran in to a hitch with Plastidip being very hard to find locally. Due to this I was doing some research and just couldn’t find the answers I wanted or a spot to discuss options. Hopefully I can here without violating any of the rules.
What I have foundso far:
Methods – PVA, Plastidip, Smooth On 65D, Styrospray, and finally SmoothOn Epsilon.
PVA - needs no discussion.
Plastidip – How far does a spray can go? How much do people usually use for complete suit?
Styrospray – Discussed once by Cujo3131 (I think) but never a conclusion or anyone else using it or discussing it. How come?
Smooth On 65D – Xrobot, straight forward enough but no examples of final results on a whole suit or methods (how to fix that dripping problem in the video?)
Smooth On Epsilon – Only one mention online (RPF and deviant art). Looks great to be honest but I can’t find it anywhere for sale
This is where I am at. Anyone have two cents they are willing to share or point me somewhere to help me with my final choice? Either way thanks for taking a look.
By PVA do you mean PVA glue? (White School Glue, Craft Glue, etc?)
One of the tutorials I've seen for foam by TheHeroTutorials does a pretty good run down of the budget way and costly way.
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Yeah sorry about that, by PVA I mean the white glue sealing method. Stealth has great Tutorials but only covers the PVA method (paint on watered down white glue) and briefly mentions an alternative of Plastidip. These are definitely the simplest ways. No one has claimed PVA is anything but cheap and simple with passable results and Plastidip is about $25 a can locally and only available at one store when it's not sold out. Makes my options limited unfortunately.
I took a look again just in case I missed something though. Thanks for taking the time to share. Probably going to be PVA for me sadly.
**update - I think I may have found a much cheaper source of Plastidip...I have options again!
I took a look again just in case I missed something though. Thanks for taking the time to share. Probably going to be PVA for me sadly.
**update - I think I may have found a much cheaper source of Plastidip...I have options again!
Hi everyone. I've picked up some EVA foam and a can of Plastidip spray. I did some testing on a scrap piece of EVA and have sprayed a few coats on the foam, yet it still has that slightly porous foam texture. Isn't the Plastidip supposed to smooth this out? It looks like the foam was merely painted the color of the Plastidip, but the texture seems unaffected. Am I doing something wrong, or did I get a bad can of Plastidip? Or am I misunderstanding the results I should expect from the Plastidip part of the process?
Hello DRG,
I'm no pro, but from what I understand it should be smoother. Did you try sealing it with PVA glue first? I don't know if this is necessary but will probably help with the finish. I also gather that more then one coat is necessary. 2-3 sounds like the norm from my research. This is all in theory of course as I haven't tried any of this yet.
I'm no pro, but from what I understand it should be smoother. Did you try sealing it with PVA glue first? I don't know if this is necessary but will probably help with the finish. I also gather that more then one coat is necessary. 2-3 sounds like the norm from my research. This is all in theory of course as I haven't tried any of this yet.
Hi RovingGun,
I did about 2 layers and I couldn't see even a slight change in the texture from the piece I didn't spray, in fact it looked just as dry and 'foam-like' as the non-Plastidipped piece, minus the coloring change. I haven't tried PVA, but I do have some Mod Podge lying around although I've heard mixed things about it cracking and whatnot.
I did about 2 layers and I couldn't see even a slight change in the texture from the piece I didn't spray, in fact it looked just as dry and 'foam-like' as the non-Plastidipped piece, minus the coloring change. I haven't tried PVA, but I do have some Mod Podge lying around although I've heard mixed things about it cracking and whatnot.
I just looked at DB Mike's Tutorial again, and he didn't use PVA before either so, I'm at a loss for your answer
**Update - Okay I was doing more digging and I think the finish you have is normal. If you look at LilTyrant's Kat build ( The model of Foam Armor Perfecton) in her painting pictures you can see the surface finish. The Arm she made is the easiest spot to see it. A good placeto see all her pictures in one place http://imgur.com/a/XV0m2?gallery
**Update - Okay I was doing more digging and I think the finish you have is normal. If you look at LilTyrant's Kat build ( The model of Foam Armor Perfecton) in her painting pictures you can see the surface finish. The Arm she made is the easiest spot to see it. A good placeto see all her pictures in one place http://imgur.com/a/XV0m2?gallery
Hmm, okay that makes sense. Truth be told I've never seen a foam build in person so I had no idea what to expect. And the paint DID adhere to the piece I Plastidipped, so perhaps I'm just overthinking it. I think I will play with the Mod Podge method or maybe even a Mod Podge/Plastidip combo just to see what happens, since I already have both materials.
Seth Knight
Well-Known Member
Okay, plasti-dip question folks... I bought two diferent types of plasti-dip. One brush on, one spray on black... which one is *cough* better to work with/will get more out, will yield better, smoother results? Sorry if this has been asked a million times... I'll be starting on a foam suit of armor VERY soon...
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' Thanks guys
-Seth
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' Thanks guys
-Seth
So there's a couple plasti-dip questions here that I think I could shed a little light on.
DRG, one method for working with porous/rough materials it to start by spraying on a heavier coat than usual. The spray method, whether canned or from an air gun, typically consists of applying several light, overlapping coats to slowly build up the coverage, which on a smooth surface like metal or fiberglass works fine. As you've found, though, light coats don't alter the texture. Spraying on more heavily and then sanding gently with very fine grit sandpaper (at least 300 grit or higher) will help build up and smooth out the coat, but it may take a few coats to see results, and that means essentially wasting a good portion of your plasti-dip with the constant sanding.
Which leads to the spray vs. brush debate:
Seth, that first paragraph there should give you some idea of what working with the spray-on plasti-dip will be like. If your surface is smooth, spray-on is quick, fairly simple, and leaves a smoother finish. The brush method works better for not-so-smooth surfaces, as it applies thicker coats. You'll also have less waste due to overspray, but you'll still have to deal with the disadvantage of potentially leaving brush strokes, which will need to be smoothed out later or else you risk leaving noticable trails on your finished piece. Another advantage of brushing vs. spraying is you won't need to wear any kind of mask to protect you from inhaling the airborne particles, but to counter that you'll have to either clean your brushes carefully or else have to buy several of them for different colors and/or work sessions.
So in the end, it comes down to preference rather than one or the other being the obvious "better" choice.
DRG, one method for working with porous/rough materials it to start by spraying on a heavier coat than usual. The spray method, whether canned or from an air gun, typically consists of applying several light, overlapping coats to slowly build up the coverage, which on a smooth surface like metal or fiberglass works fine. As you've found, though, light coats don't alter the texture. Spraying on more heavily and then sanding gently with very fine grit sandpaper (at least 300 grit or higher) will help build up and smooth out the coat, but it may take a few coats to see results, and that means essentially wasting a good portion of your plasti-dip with the constant sanding.
Which leads to the spray vs. brush debate:
Seth, that first paragraph there should give you some idea of what working with the spray-on plasti-dip will be like. If your surface is smooth, spray-on is quick, fairly simple, and leaves a smoother finish. The brush method works better for not-so-smooth surfaces, as it applies thicker coats. You'll also have less waste due to overspray, but you'll still have to deal with the disadvantage of potentially leaving brush strokes, which will need to be smoothed out later or else you risk leaving noticable trails on your finished piece. Another advantage of brushing vs. spraying is you won't need to wear any kind of mask to protect you from inhaling the airborne particles, but to counter that you'll have to either clean your brushes carefully or else have to buy several of them for different colors and/or work sessions.
So in the end, it comes down to preference rather than one or the other being the obvious "better" choice.
Seth Knight
Well-Known Member
So am I right in thinking that, although the coats of PVA and then RD65 are a better choice and give a better finish, plasti dip is still usable for coating the foam in plastic, you just need several light coats after one heavy coat? And from reading through this thread I've been able to find out that you can paint on top of plastidip, it's just much easier to use the PVA/RD65 method.
Jason 078
Well-Known Member
Plasti-dipping something lets it remain fairly flexible. Unless you are using a heavily latex-based paint, that could cause cracking. The PVA/RD65 method causes it to be a hard plastic base with little to no flexibility, so it can take normal paints (such as auto paints) without difficulty and generally will not crack from normal wear and movement.
So I'm scaling a MKVI foam file, and have run into issues. So I used 2 different scaling methods, the one with a bunch of calculating an conversion, which got me to 26.461, and just entering my hight in inches. Well, 26.461 is tiny, and 77 inches is too big. Or is it?! I gues what I'm asking is, is either method correct?
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