Seams fail Eva foam

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Freak4potter

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Hello!

So I followed my oldest spawns idea of sealing with plasti dip on my EVA foam armor for my cosplay of Scrapper 142. I started with it and wasn’t to pleased and pulled it off the seams... I sanded and filed with Keli seal, and then mod podged... thought that would hide the seams....so I plasti dipped. The seams were not covered ugh ... is there any ways to repair it ? Can I put something on it and then sand and re plasti dip? Thanks in advance for any suggestions.


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I fill my seams with paper clay using water to soften it into the spots I need filled, then give it a day to dry. After I’ve hand sanded using 150 grit paper, I seal using PVA Glue if it’s a part that doesn’t require a ton of flex. The PVA Glue softens any parts that I might have missed with the paper clay sanding and comes out in a smooth finish afterword.

Not sure if that’s something that is going to help you now, but food for thought in the future, and a new strategy for your toolbox.
 
I've never tried to put more material on a layer of plastidip but I would be weary of doing that only because plastidip can be peeled off. I would remove the plastidip where the seams are and try and smooth out the seams again. Get a good buildup of filler in and sand that down with a higher grit of sandpaper like 150-220. What grit of sandpaper were you using? Using a higher grit will get a smoother surface.

You could also try kwik seal (or most types of caulks). Using a small flat utensil, smooth it over the seams and use a wet finger to further smooth the seal. I've also heard of using a dremel/sandpaper to sand down the foam. Maybe someone with that experience can chime in on that?
 
I've used Kwik seal on top of plastidip when I forgot to fill in seams and that worked. The caulk stuck really nicely to it. Though, that technique will really work better on indented/valley-esque seam problems. Just got to make sure to use a wet finger/wet towel to remove excess.

I've also dremeled down my foam seams a bit to make them fit nicer together that was prior to plastidip. And sometimes I would go too far but I could hide my crimes with the kwik seal.
 
I've never tried to put more material on a layer of plastidip but I would be weary of doing that only because plastidip can be peeled off. I would remove the plastidip where the seams are and try and smooth out the seams again. Get a good buildup of filler in and sand that down with a higher grit of sandpaper like 150-220. What grit of sandpaper were you using? Using a higher grit will get a smoother surface.

You could also try kwik seal (or most types of caulks). Using a small flat utensil, smooth it over the seams and use a wet finger to further smooth the seal. I've also heard of using a dremel/sandpaper to sand down the foam. Maybe someone with that experience can chime in on that?
Thanks, I do use Kwik seal... and 2000 grit sandpaper ...and also a dremel... but it was my first time.
 
Hello!

So I followed my oldest spawns idea of sealing with plasti dip on my EVA foam armor for my cosplay of Scrapper 142. I started with it and wasn’t to pleased and pulled it off the seams... I sanded and filed with Keli seal, and then mod podged... thought that would hide the seams....so I plasti dipped. The seams were not covered ugh ... is there any ways to repair it ? Can I put something on it and then sand and re plasti dip? Thanks in advance for any suggestions.


View attachment 276181
It’s a coveted project ... I was seeing if I could make it better
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Personally I am lazy. If seams are there I hide it by weathering it an making it look like dented/damaged armour.
But, if I were to do things the right way, the best thing to do is what Frozensnot mentioned. Sand the offending area down to foam and fill in the low spots/bad seams with your product of choice, kwik seal, Woodlands Scenic foam putty or even foam clay. let it cure, sand smooth, seal and paint.
 
I should also mention that in theatre we had the 10 foot rule. If it isn't gonna be seen from ten feet away, don't bother. Like when someone takes your photo it probably won't show up. Sure you will see it, but no one else will.

Edit: oh hey! Just realized this was Galaxycon! Woo! Is this the Raleigh one? It looks like the RCC!
 
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I am sorry it came out that way. I have had a very similar problem with one of my helmets. You have to be very careful with how you do your seams. Kwik seal ends up looking like this if you do not smooth it out absolutely perfectly. Even if it feels smooth it usually isnt and has a little hump over the seam that is visable through the paint, and you cant really sand it down. In order to recover it, maybe you could build it out with mod podge by brushing layers that fill in the void of space and connect the hill of a seam to the rest of the armor
 
I should also mention that in theatre we had the 10 foot rule. If it isn't gonna be seen from ten feet away, don't bother. Like when someone takes your photo it probably won't show up. Sure you will see it, but no one else will.

Edit: oh hey! Just realized this was Galaxycon! Woo! Is this the Raleigh one? It looks like the RCC!

Yes it is! Dragoncon is next —- I was a thespian and I thought about that rule. And that’s why I wasn’t too concerned but just wanted to see if I could improve it before Dragoncon. Thanks for the help.
 
I've never tried to put more material on a layer of plastidip but I would be weary of doing that only because plastidip can be peeled off. I would remove the plastidip where the seams are and try and smooth out the seams again. Get a good buildup of filler in and sand that down with a higher grit of sandpaper like 150-220. What grit of sandpaper were you using? Using a higher grit will get a smoother surface.

You could also try kwik seal (or most types of caulks). Using a small flat utensil, smooth it over the seams and use a wet finger to further smooth the seal. I've also heard of using a dremel/sandpaper to sand down the foam. Maybe someone with that experience can chime in on that?
Thanks so much for the help... kwik was used and I did dremel — and used grit 2000 - but I am not too concerned as it came out nice I just wanted to see about cleaning it up some more ...
 
Im looking into a new product called flexi paint, meant to be s self priming paint like plastidip. Layer it up and its like s coatibg of rubber. Doesnt crack, distort or crinkle. Gonna have some arrive in the next week to test it
 
Im looking into a new product called flexi paint, meant to be s self priming paint like plastidip. Layer it up and its like s coatibg of rubber. Doesnt crack, distort or crinkle. Gonna have some arrive in the next week to test it
I have used that product myself. It is pretty good. Very flexible, paint adheres to it very well.
One thing I don't like is that it is a brush on product.
 
It air brushes too, just add a little water to the mix. It evaporates off as it dries

Is is just this paint in particular? I would guess that most standard paints would not fair well going through an air brush...unless I'm talking out of my buttplate.
 
Is is just this paint in particular? I would guess that most standard paints would not fair well going through an air brush...unless I'm talking out of my buttplate.
The product is thick naturally. It resembles pva glue. When applying its supposed to be diluted. 1 part FlexiPaint 5 parts water.
What I'm concerned about if used through an airbrush is that I gums it up.
 
Most paint can be air brusued if you dilute it a tad will just need an extra coat for colour depth.

Flexipaint is also coloured so you dont need extra paint. My build needs silver red and gold. Im going to base coat it all in silver and then have 2 coats of each colour accordingly.

For metalic effect you can also get it as a clear paint and mix it with pigments, then use a gloss top coat seal for a shiny metallic effect. Im building an Iron Man so its gotta be extra shinny!
 
The product is thick naturally. It resembles pva glue. When applying its supposed to be diluted. 1 part FlexiPaint 5 parts water.
What I'm concerned about if used through an airbrush is that I gums it up.
Can you not periodically clean the air brush by firing water through it ?
 
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