Foamex pvc sheet & mitrebond contact adhesive

RED DRAGON

RED DRAGON

Active Member
Just ordered an a4 sheet to test it out but its 3mm thick closed cell foam coated in pvc. Im gunna do a tester when it arrives as long as its easy enough to cut then its what im gonna make the next project out of. If it works out i may have to fibreglass the back but should save me having to use bondo over the whole outside. Will let you all know how i get on peace out :thumbsup
Foamalux Foam PVC Board Red 3mm A4 210 x 297 PVC Sheet A4 | eBay

REVISED 17/05/2014
Alright guys I have been experimenting with all different kinds of materials from foam to metal to plastics to vinyls. Experimenting with different glues and I have finally found a combination that works great
first the glue; mitrebond with pen Mitrebond - Different Quantities Available | eBay
this glue is the strongest I have ever used and it sets in about 1.5 seconds when the 2 surfaces connect with each other. ...here is a youtube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pba3QVqei1k it says 10 to 15 seconds on the video but it took a couple of seconds when I did it.
then the material 1mm Foamex Matt White Foam PVC Sheet - Foam Sheet Sign Board PVC Board Foam Board 1mm Foamex Matt White Foam PVC Sheet - Foam Sheet Sign Board PVC Board Foam Boar | eBay I used 3mm in the past but it was much more work to bend and cut and with 1mm you don't need to worry about angle cuts just cut normal with sissors and use a tiny bit of filler in the joints when the job is complete. its bendable and very very easy to work with. When the parts are made put a layer of fibleglass on the inside and it should be ready for paint.NO SANDING NO BODYFILLER.
the glue costs £9.99 inc p&p
and a massive sheet of foamex 3050mmx1220mm is £29.59 inc p&p
 
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Re: If you wanna plastic coat foam why not just make it out of this stuff????

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Re: If you wanna plastic coat foam why not just make it out of this stuff????

That will work great if you're making pieces that lie flat or don't have pep segments that join into a smooth rounded surface - if the latter, then you'd still need bondo to finish the shape of the surface. But I love that this exists and would use it myself for some things. let us know how it goes, and if they make it in 6mm thickness!
 
Re: If you wanna plastic coat foam why not just make it out of this stuff????

Im not sure youre going to get what you think.

Foamalux is a rigid plastic which has smooth faces. It's 100% PVC plastic rather than being EVA type foam coated in PVC. It's what they tend to make things like shop signage from. Im not sure that it will be quite as 'foamy' as you imagine. It will bend along a straight line if you heat it with a heat gun, but you wont be able to do compound curves with it, and when it cools it tends to try and return back to it's original shape unless held until totally cool. You also have to heat it to a point where the plastic is almost melting to do that, so you cant really hold it unless you wear gloves.

I used Foamalux to make blanking plates and other random parts for my track-day car a few years ago so I do have some experience with it.

Still, it's actually a really useful product, easy to work with and cut, and will probably come in useful for a few things whatever you end up using it for! :)
 
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Re: If you wanna plastic coat foam why not just make it out of this stuff????

Is that same as sintra? I tried using sintra and PVC sheet (same grey material as PVC pipe).
Sintra easy get scratch, but easy to cut and bend. PVC sheet is tough to cut (depend on the thickness too) and hard to bend
 
Re: If you wanna plastic coat foam why not just make it out of this stuff????

Here's my suit I made using Celtec. Foamalux (Uk brand), Sintra (US brand), and Celtec is pretty much the same material. It took me about 16 24"x18" sheets to build a suit. I love the stuff and I think you will too, just watch out for those rounded areas as they're a pain to cut.

http://www.therpf.com/f24/iron-man-mark-vii-cardboard-celtec-pvc-143561/index7.html
 
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Re: If you wanna plastic coat foam why not just make it out of this stuff????

Whoa....nice.
My opinion on Sintra/Celtec:
1. Easy to bend with heat
2. Easy to cut (even I can use scissors)
3. A bit more pricey to me
4. Dented quite fast, can't be repaired except with putty/filler
5. Too much heat will deform (I don't have heat gun)
6. Too hot of glue will also deform it

I recently trying to use PE sheet (like FOR SALE plaque), good for flat parts, hard to bend, or hard to get it flat once it is rolled up.
 
Re: If you wanna plastic coat foam why not just make it out of this stuff????

I agree with all those points.

You would also need to find a glue that would give you an instant bond for Foamalux. In my experience I used Crazy glue for Sintra and Celtec I used Loctite professional. When I tried Crazy glue on Celtec it was like I was applying water to it. It didn't want to bond at all unless I clamp it and leave it over night.

Also if a piece breaks off make sure to sand down the glue residue before you apply more. For some reason these glues doesn't like to bond to each other.
 
Re: If you wanna plastic coat foam why not just make it out of this stuff????

(y)thumbsup tips.

I was thinking using CA glue (power glue),but I just got crazy experience with this glue (bond nicely to skin, but poor on foam/magnet/metal/plastic sheet).
I was thinking using several drops of CA glue, then run a hot melt glue at the inner join to strengthen the bond.or even added scrap foam.

I hope I can get more budget to start shift to this material.
 
Re: If you wanna plastic coat foam why not just make it out of this stuff????

Alright then guys like i said i only ordered an a4 sheet to test it so just done a hand sheild. The pvc is easy to cut with either a knife or sissors the finish is excellent! I WILL be making the next suit of of this stuff with fibreglass reinforcement on the back. If your in the uk then u can make a full solid suit for around £100 with minimal use of fillers. I took a few pics but they aint the greatest i'll take a few more tomorrow in the daylight.
It was built the exact same way as the foam ones i did when it was built just put a bit of normal household filler in the parts i glued together, no need for car body filler or if your american at home BONDOOOOO lol one coat of filler primer and 2 coats of the red i had left over from my last build. Quick, easy and the end result is excellent, smooth with no little inperfections. Hope this helps anyone building costumes im looking forward to my next project in the new year :thumbsup

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some info on where you can get this for a good price

trent-plastics
Main page loads of different offers
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=pvc+foam&_sacat=26238&_odkw=&_osacat=26238&_armrs=1&_ssn=trent-plastics
3mm Matt WHITE PVC FOAM Board - 10 Sheets 608 x 608
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3mm-Matt-WHITE-PVC-FOAM-Board-10-Sheets-608-x-608-/400173669307?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item5d2c359bbb
10 x 608x608 3mm sheets 36.00 inc p&p uk
20 x 608x608 3mm sheets £65.50 inc p&p uk
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Re: If you wanna plastic coat foam why not just make it out of this stuff????

Thanks for the information mate. I'm currently looking into building my 2nd suit and I will be going down the foam route this time and I may have to consider this foam.

I just ordered some normal camping mat foam but I don't think its going to be any good.
I'll deffo look into this stuff and give it a go. It looks a bit pricey but if its decent stuff then i'll not complain.

Cheers again
 
Re: If you wanna plastic coat foam why not just make it out of this stuff????

Shakeitdavey said:
Thanks for the information mate. I'm currently looking into building my 2nd suit and I will be going down the foam route this time and I may have to consider this foam.

I just ordered some normal camping mat foam but I don't think its going to be any good.
I'll deffo look into this stuff and give it a go. It looks a bit pricey but if its decent stuff then i'll not complain.

Cheers again
Click to expand...
Well the thing is with foam suits is wen u make them they look great but when you wear them out for a night or an event then you come back with a million creases in it and it looks terrible! I used camping mats for a few sections on my mark 7 and i hated the stuff lol i used the interlocking foam mates because they were a lot more stiff and its what most people use unless you wanna spend big on the LD45 stuff that james from xrobots used. As for price i spent £3.25 per square on the foam and the same size in this pvc is £3.60 per square! Then i spent £45 on 3 cans of plastidip which was the cheapest i could find and it only costs £20 for fibreglass resin and £20 for fibreglass cloth to do the whole suit and more. Thats why i pretty much looked into this method and was way more impressed with the end result.
 
Re: If you wanna plastic coat foam why not just make it out of this stuff????

PrimoOptimoso said:
That will work great if you're making pieces that lie flat or don't have pep segments that join into a smooth rounded surface - if the latter, then you'd still need bondo to finish the shape of the surface. But I love that this exists and would use it myself for some things. let us know how it goes, and if they make it in 6mm thickness!
Click to expand...

They make it in loads of different thicknesses
you defo cant use is on dome shaped pieces but for a mark 7 suit for example you could use pvc for 95% of the suit so im looking forward to doing a full project using pvc
 
Re: If you wanna plastic coat foam why not just make it out of this stuff????

Dynofiend said:
Im not sure youre going to get what you think.

Foamalux is a rigid plastic which has smooth faces. It's 100% PVC plastic rather than being EVA type foam coated in PVC. It's what they tend to make things like shop signage from. Im not sure that it will be quite as 'foamy' as you imagine. It will bend along a straight line if you heat it with a heat gun, but you wont be able to do compound curves with it, and when it cools it tends to try and return back to it's original shape unless held until totally cool. You also have to heat it to a point where the plastic is almost melting to do that, so you cant really hold it unless you wear gloves.

I used Foamalux to make blanking plates and other random parts for my track-day car a few years ago so I do have some experience with it.

Still, it's actually a really useful product, easy to work with and cut, and will probably come in useful for a few things whatever you end up using it for! :)
Click to expand...

The closed cell foam in the middle is a hard version of foam not like the loam used in mats and stuff but the pvc is literally a thing layer on the top and bottom so it was pretty much what i was expecting lol but yeah it is pretty easy to cut not saying it would be easy to make a full suit it would defo have its challenges but luckily i like a challenge
 
Re: If you wanna plastic coat foam why not just make it out of this stuff????

dfx13 said:
Here's my suit I made using Celtec. Foamalux (Uk brand), Sintra (US brand), and Celtec is pretty much the same material. It took me about 16 24"x18" sheets to build a suit. I love the stuff and I think you will too, just watch out for those rounded areas as they're a pain to cut.

http://www.therpf.com/f24/iron-man-mark-vii-cardboard-celtec-pvc-143561/index7.html
Click to expand...

Im guessing it is the same stuff lol Yeah i couldnt do the curved cut with the sissors i had to use the knife but was simple enough. It was your build that made me look into it to be honest so your the inspiration behind this thread lol your suit looks amazing.
 
Re: If you wanna plastic coat foam why not just make it out of this stuff????

IMIM2 said:
(y)thumbsup tips.

I was thinking using CA glue (power glue),but I just got crazy experience with this glue (bond nicely to skin, but poor on foam/magnet/metal/plastic sheet).
I was thinking using several drops of CA glue, then run a hot melt glue at the inner join to strengthen the bond.or even added scrap foam.

I hope I can get more budget to start shift to this material.
Click to expand...

I find the only downside is you can scratch it easily but probably would be ok wen its all painted and clear coated. I just used the glue gun on the test piece it didnt harm the material in any way and it cools down faster then when i used it on foam! But the bond isnt strong enough to take a beating on a night out at all thats why i always intended on fibreglassing the back of the whole thing. I think it will turn out great but if im wrong im wrong its all a learning curve i suppose lol
 
Re: If you wanna plastic coat foam why not just make it out of this stuff????

RED DRAGON said:
Well the thing is with foam suits is wen u make them they look great but when you wear them out for a night or an event then you come back with a million creases in it and it looks terrible! I used camping mats for a few sections on my mark 7 and i hated the stuff lol i used the interlocking foam mates because they were a lot more stiff and its what most people use unless you wanna spend big on the LD45 stuff that james from xrobots used. As for price i spent £3.25 per square on the foam and the same size in this pvc is £3.60 per square! Then i spent £45 on 3 cans of plastidip which was the cheapest i could find and it only costs £20 for fibreglass resin and £20 for fibreglass cloth to do the whole suit and more. Thats why i pretty much looked into this method and was way more impressed with the end result.
Click to expand...

Do you think this pvc foam will reduce the amount of creases you would get compared to a normal foam build? Have you played about with the foam you got at moment? to see how rigid it is and if it does crease?
If its as good as you say then i'll just splash out and get this pvc foam.

Any change of getting a few more pics too?
Thanks again
 
Re: If you wanna plastic coat foam why not just make it out of this stuff????

Shakeitdavey said:
Do you think this pvc foam will reduce the amount of creases you would get compared to a normal foam build? Have you played about with the foam you got at moment? to see how rigid it is and if it does crease?
If its as good as you say then i'll just splash out and get this pvc foam.

Any change of getting a few more pics too?
Thanks again
Click to expand...

the pvc already doesnt flex its a rigid plastic that is easy to cut! then when the fibreglass is added to the back its a solid suit of armour lol As for foam on its own it doesnt matter what foam you use its gunna crease!! i look at my suit and think i spent weeks and weeks building that and it looks like c#*p now. And mine was done with plastidip. My advise would be do what i did and order an a4 piece and test it yourself i think its like £1.50 for an a4 but for me personally i will never make another foam suit and i will never do a traditional pep with all the bondo and sanding i think the pvc option is the best of both worlds.
 
Re: If you wanna plastic coat foam why not just make it out of this stuff????

RED DRAGON said:
the pvc already doesnt flex its a rigid plastic that is easy to cut! then when the fibreglass is added to the back its a solid suit of armour lol As for foam on its own it doesnt matter what foam you use its gunna crease!! i look at my suit and think i spent weeks and weeks building that and it looks like c#*p now. And mine was done with plastidip. My advise would be do what i did and order an a4 piece and test it yourself i think its like £1.50 for an a4 but for me personally i will never make another foam suit and i will never do a traditional pep with all the bondo and sanding i think the pvc option is the best of both worlds.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. I would say the same thing about the body filler/sanding route lol I would never do that again, which is why i want to do it in foam.

I'll get 1 a4 piece to play about with and see what I think. Cheers again
 
Re: If you wanna plastic coat foam why not just make it out of this stuff????

Thanks RED DRAGON. I have to make a correction to my earlier post. The PVC foam is softer than Sintra/Celtec and much easier to work with. This may or may not save you some money since you're over seas but here's a store in the US where I get mine. Can't wait to see how your suit turns out.

18"x24" for $2.79
Sintra - PVC Sign Blanks

Other sizes
Search - pvc
 
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