The Necessity of Plastidip

[DoctorFang]

Alright, so after months of on and off work, My ODST suit is almost done, with a few weeks to spare before Halloween. All I here left to do is paint it. As I look around on the forums, everyone seems to be using plastidip to coat and seal their projects before they paint. So my question is: is plastidip necessary? I have actually been told by a couple of people far more skilled than myself, that you don't need plastidip for foam armor, that you can put on heavy layers of primer and that's just fine for sealing and making a base for the paint. What say you all?

 

[edwardjlw]

I believe the most common problem arising from not properly sealing your work is ending up with a bubbly, kind of aerated paint finish that doesn't look much like solid armour. If you have some spare foam laying around, test out your idea with the heavy primer coats and see if that works. Another alternative (one I use on all my foam pieces) is to mix up some PVA or wood glue with some water, with a ratio of about 1 part glue to 1 part water. Mix it up well, then use a fine bristled brush to paint your piece. I usually do about 3-4 coats, letting each coat dry before another is applied. Keep in mind the reason to mix the glue with water is to help the foam absorb the stuff, and also make it a lot easier to apply. Also, mixing it with water obviously thins it out a quite a bit, so the brush marks aren't noticeable on the final piece. Some people choose to do this method, then do a coat of plastidip over the top, but the plastidip is not required.

Good luck getting your suit painted, hope this helped ya out