Hot glue problem.

[BladeRunner]

While making my Dark Knight Batman costume with eva foam, I have often had a problem with the hot glue. It ends up coming out of the sides and leaving strings of glue all over the suit. I get most of them, but it is an extremely tedious process. How do you guys combat this problem or, possibly, avoid it?

 

[P4r4dox86]

When you say "coming out the sides" do you mean when you sandwich the foam together it comes out from the join? If so, try putting the foam together on an angle so that only the OUTER edges touch, and then close the two pieces together sort of like a hinge so that any over fill of glue will come out only on the INSIDE of the piece that won't be shown.

As for the stringy glue, it's annoying and hard to stop, but I just try and A) Make sure the glue is really hot when using which minimises it a bit, and B) wipe the end of the gun against the foam when I'm done with that section of glue to try and get rid of any excess to stop strings forming when I pull it away.

 

[BladeRunner]

Thanks for the quick, helpful response. I'm going to try your way of sandwiching the foam. I was also wondering, once it is plastidipped and painted, do the small bits of left over glue become less noticeable?

 

[Berserk]

try taping the 2 pieces together on the outside with electrical tape, then run the hot glue down the two sections. Once the glues dries, just remove the tape for a clean "seam".

I believe there is another thread on here somewhere that discribes the process really well. search for seamless foam

 

[Finhead]

No need here you go.
http://www.therpf.com/f24/tip-making-seamless-seams-eva-foam-143294/

 

[IMIM2]

Try to "smear" or flatten the excess glue with the tip of the glue gun (pull out the stick first, just a little bit, to prevent accidental flow). It look shiny but it'll disappear once coated. Just be careful not to "overburn" the foam.

If it is a string of glue, you can run the piece under open flame quickly, it'll curl up, and just use thumb to wipe it out. But you need to do a lot of practice first. See my tip on cleaning excess cut.
Does the strings created because your fingers accidentally "touched" the glue? Or from the tip of the gun?

 

[BladeRunner]

Thanks for all the feedback.

 

[StarksWarehouse]

for the strings of glue, i have found it helpful to use a heat gun (if you have one), just blow the heat gun over the suit which in turn, melts the thin strands of glue and the basically just disappear as the strands are that thin. saves lots of time

 

[BladeRunner]

for the strings of glue, i have found it helpful to use a heat gun (if you have one), just blow the heat gun over the suit which in turn, melts the thin strands of glue and the basically just disappear as the strands are that thin. saves lots of time

My fear of that is that I will weaken the important glue bonds too much, thus destroying all my work. If this is a tried and tested technique though, I may give it a try. Thanks.

 

[StarksWarehouse]

Well I hold the heat gun a good distance away, maybe 1ft away from the foam, and keep it moving, it only need a quick blast over the fascia of the foam. It won't weaken the main glue joints as they need lots of heat for a long period to dismantle. I use this method on all of my pieces and it works a treat.

Sent from my BlackBerry 8900 using Tapatalk

 

[BladeRunner]

Thanks, I'll have to try that.

 

[bugman72]

I second StarksWarehouse's method. Any excess glue that squirts out of the joint is either wiped away immediately (if I hands available to do so) or I will go back over the joint with my heat gun. I heat it up just enough to make the glue malleable again and then quickly wipe it away with my finger(s). Makes for a very nice cleanup.

 

[TK9120]

I found with my gun if I just release the trigger and wait a couple of seconds that I don't get any strings.