An alternative to PVA for sealing foam?

[ferret304]

Hey-o guys!
So I've had an idea, and I'd like to know if anyone's tried this before. Instead of PVA, or plasti-dip for sealing their foam armour, has anyone ever tried using hot glue instead? Like, melting a whole bunch and brushing it on? I realise it'd probably be a bit lumpy, but you could always sand it down. Thoughts?

 

[Zaff]

Not 100% certain, but I think this has been tried/suggested before, and was eventually abandoned as 1) that's a lot of glue to melt, which gets expensive, 2) chance of burning the glue, thus wasting it, 3) sanding a large surface area of hot glue turned out to be problematic, and 4) at the end of it for the amount of coverage it wasn't really any cheaper than buying a can or two of brush-on plastidip and far more hassle compared to just opening a can, giving it a stir, and brushing it on.

 

[ferret304]

I see... I came up with it because I have a whole bunch left after my costume, and plasti dip is real expensive in australia

 

[Zaff]

As with just about anything here, there really is no set "standard" that will work all across the board. It all depends on availability and local cost differences. If you have a lot of leftover glue and no real plans for doing more builds with it, then it's worth a shot. Start small, test it on a scrap piece perhaps to make sure it will give you a satisfactory finish before applying it to your build.

 

[Gumption 117]

I see... I came up with it because I have a whole bunch left after my costume, and plasti dip is real expensive in australia

I too am in Australia and will not be using plasti-dip due to being solvent based but also rare and expensive.

Although sealing with PVA glue, James from XRobots.co.uk then uses layers of urethane resin to coat the PVA-coated foam to turn it into a smooth plastic finish.
I haven't tested it as yet but the result looks pretty good. You can see his tutorial video HERE and/or his website with the same full set of instructions HERE

 

[ferret304]

I too am in Australia and will not be using plasti-dip due to being solvent based but also rare and expensive.

Although sealing with PVA glue, James from XRobots.co.uk then uses layers of urethane resin to coat the PVA-coated foam to turn it into a smooth plastic finish.
I haven't tested it as yet but the result looks pretty good. You can see his tutorial video HERE and/or his website with the same full set of instructions HERE

I thought of that, but the same barrier is cost. The urethane plastic isn't cheap

 

[bbc Gunbunny02]

Hi man, saw this and he uses spraypaint for plastik to seal the foam. I tried to use the basics silver from liquitex and
it seems like it work as well cause it is permanent, flexible and waterproof. also you can wetsand it quite well. I m from germany and here it is about 2,5€ - 3,5€ for 100 ml so not that expansive. hopefully this maybe will help you out

 

[WandererTJ]

Does acrylic paint eat through foam? Because if not, I would suggest brushing it on.
Sometimes there are little chunky bits in the small craft paint bottles, but that just might be from might being really old.

Whatever you do, definitely make sure to test it on a sample piece first.