painting foam?

Hi all

Noob question here again

Can I just ask what do you foam suit builders use for painting foam?

Over here in the UK. we have very few foam we can use and they are all pretty rubbish foam except for 1 brand which is mega expensive

I have tried alot of different types of foam and the paint just cracks and chip off. The best result I have is on 10mm thick plastazote which I sealed with 3 layers of PVA and then plastic primed then paint. The results looks good but the area like the inside of the arm has started to chip away from rubbing the chest armour for about an hour of wearing it

The paint I used was just automotive rattle cans.

So I was wondering if any of your guys has any good tips I can use for my master chief build?
Do I need rubber type paints? maybe like enamel spray paint?

I believe you have just met the downside to EVA foam my friend. The reason why most use PVA is for two reasons. One is to seal the foam so that chemicals don't deteriorate the foam or the adhesive used (most commonly the Plasidip vs. hot glue factor), and the next is to give you a sand-able surface so that you can perfect the faces before painting. Both Plasidip (or similar brands) and/or rubber type paints meant for elasticity don't offer the ability to be sanded. I have personally tested polyamide resins on foam with great success. Even though it does not allow you to sand it, it goes on thick and self levels so that brush strokes and minor imperfections do not show up. It also has incredible flexibility, self seals most punctures, and when combined with woven fiberglass, it becomes almost tear-proof. It cures cold so it does not harm your EVA, and it really bonds well to the hot glue as well as the EVA. It also has incredible memory, so when it is twisted or stretched, it goes back to it's original shape. It can not be painted, but instead, you add an epoxy dye to color it. I would check with your local hardware store and find someone knowledgeable with polyamide two part epoxy for further details if you wanted to go this route.

I hope this helps! By the way, I have a quick video I posted on youtube showing a piece that I had already torture tested (burned, stabbed, used abrasives on, and tried to rip/tear) that I then demonstrate the resilience of. All that information can be found on my website here. The only thing I don't go over in detail is the epoxy dye, which I found later and have not updated my site for (I tried clothing dye with little success).

I use the floor mats for foam, seal with spray plastidip, then several coats of paint, details, then clear coat it to protect it. So far I haven't had any issues, however, my suit has gotten much use.

I use rattle can and acrylic paint. btw if you use craft foam for any thing, do not use the plastidip you paint on, only spray can, the paint on bubbles and deforms craft foam, found out from personal experience.

im from the UK and I get what you mean. However, as mentioned here before, you need to buy anti fatigue floor mats. They are redily available from ebay and if you buy in bulk they aren't that expensive. It is what I used to build the base . I then cover it up with 2mm craft foam to hide most of the joints and add detail. Paint wise I plastidiped it all (took quite a few cans and coats, very expensive) and then airbrushed acrylic paints/details on followed by some black wash and dry silver brushing. I have not put a clear coat and have worn my suit 3 times and it is holding up extremely well. Few touch ups required where the suit rubs against other part but they are not noticeable at all. Drop me a message if you need anymore help.

This is the downside to EVA foam. However, there are different ways to seal it:
1) Plastidip, probably the fastest but it's toxic
2) PVA (I have no idea how this works)
3) Mod Podge. This is what I use, it's cheap and easy. Coat the whole armor in it, and then use whatever paint you want.

Thanks for the reply guys.

EVAkura that stuff sounds amazing!!! I have to look into that. that stuff is more than unlikely to be available

U513. Just sending you a PM now. Thanks in advance

I don't have any problem sealing the foam and the foam itself it pretty hardcore!! it doesn't tear easiler and it fairly dense but can be bendable by apply heat. To be honest, I love using this foam but I just can't get the paint to stay on

I am about to test out rondo with it. I did a test piece which worked out great but as I bend the foam the rondo just snaps. I will try it again but apply fibreglass on the underside so there is not much of a chance it can bend.

Hi
im in uk and i use camping mats there about £5 a roll and thenthere are 3 ways of sealing it which are plasti dip, coat the foam with 5 coats of pva glue the last one is expensive it is like fiberglassing foam it turns the foam into plastic
check out youtube xrobots he made and iron man suit and uses the plastic method
hope this helps

yeah I have seen xrobots 65D but it's mega expensive would love to go that route but I can't afford it.

I have done the PVA route and it still chips and flakes (but maybe it's because I use automotive car paints)

Plastidip hasn't got the green I am after for master chief so how do I paint my suit if I want to do plastidip route?
I just want to know the best foam to use and the best seal and paint combo so can apply it to my suit, I don't want to worry the whole time I am wearing it

ep82 said:

yeah I have seen xrobots 65D but it's mega expensive would love to go that route but I can't afford it.

I have done the PVA route and it still chips and flakes (but maybe it's because I use automotive car paints)

Plastidip hasn't got the green I am after for master chief so how do I paint my suit if I want to do plastidip route?
I just want to know the best foam to use and the best seal and paint combo so can apply it to my suit, I don't want to worry the whole time I am wearing it

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Plasti dip has a whole new line of colors as well as metalizers. What color were you looking for? I see several greens. http://plastidip.com/whats_new.php

Gamertag: RYNOx666

Can you use spray paint on foam? I know that acrylics are probably better but they take a lot of time, and I have already glued the chest pieces onto my torso. So acrylics would be very hard to do.

()HaloMaster() said:

Can you use spray paint on foam? I know that acrylics are probably better but they take a lot of time, and I have already glued the chest pieces onto my torso. So acrylics would be very hard to do.

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You can spray paint directly onto foam, but it will not give you the best finish. Because the foam is very porous, it soaks up the paint, and where you have glue, it will be glossy and smooth. Overall, it is not bad, but you can definitely tell it is foam under that paint

EVAkura said:

You can spray paint directly onto foam, but it will not give you the best finish. Because the foam is very porous, it soaks up the paint, and where you have glue, it will be glossy and smooth. Overall, it is not bad, but you can definitely tell it is foam under that paint

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Thanks, I was just hoping it wouldn't eat at the foam.