zombienoms
Active Member
some still rough issues with mine I put on anohter layer of plasticthen sanded but its not baby smooth like yours seems to be. Aldo it seems to lack that really ridgid hard plastic knocking sound. help?
How to plastic coat foam costume pieces
- Thread starter XRobots
- Start date
I spent a few days last week trying out the process to make a lobe plate for a colonial marine helmet. I used Polytek EasyFlo 120 roto resin, a randome piece of foam from work, and a sheet of 1mm EVA (Big thanks XRobots 
)
I found most grades of sandpaper did almost nothing to the resin, but I discovered that a fresh stanly knife blade (circled in red) makes for an awesome scraper. Getting the whole thing smooth and shaping it took no time at all :thumbsup
As it happens, this resin had a lot of flex still, mainly because it was hiding a cavity, but its also fairly thin. So, to stop an unwary digit from making a hole in it, I opted to fill said cavity with more resin. All nice and firm, I was finally able to give it a coat of primer
As a first attempt I'm quite pleased with the results, but further resin investigation is required to see if a harder shell can be achived with a thin (ish) layer.
)
I found most grades of sandpaper did almost nothing to the resin, but I discovered that a fresh stanly knife blade (circled in red) makes for an awesome scraper. Getting the whole thing smooth and shaping it took no time at all :thumbsup
As it happens, this resin had a lot of flex still, mainly because it was hiding a cavity, but its also fairly thin. So, to stop an unwary digit from making a hole in it, I opted to fill said cavity with more resin. All nice and firm, I was finally able to give it a coat of primer
As a first attempt I'm quite pleased with the results, but further resin investigation is required to see if a harder shell can be achived with a thin (ish) layer.
The Hasbros
New Member
Hi Guys!
We recently used this coating method for our first time pep-builds. High density foam, pva and smooth cast 65D. Worked pretty well, rigid but with great flexibility. You can make whole body (wrap around) pieces that once hardened with plastic can be cut open again so you can get the pieces on! They hold their shape yet stay flexible enough for you to manipulate when putting it all on. Great method, thanks James you genius.
We also found (as others have) that applying multiple coats before the previous has dried is key. Also keep brushing the coat until it starts to bite the brush, this stopped the bubbles forming.... we found that out eventually. Hope you like our results!
Thanks guys
The Hasbros
Duo Iron Patriot and Ironman Pep Build
We recently used this coating method for our first time pep-builds. High density foam, pva and smooth cast 65D. Worked pretty well, rigid but with great flexibility. You can make whole body (wrap around) pieces that once hardened with plastic can be cut open again so you can get the pieces on! They hold their shape yet stay flexible enough for you to manipulate when putting it all on. Great method, thanks James you genius.
We also found (as others have) that applying multiple coats before the previous has dried is key. Also keep brushing the coat until it starts to bite the brush, this stopped the bubbles forming.... we found that out eventually. Hope you like our results!
Thanks guys
The Hasbros
Duo Iron Patriot and Ironman Pep Build
there is an old prop tech where you hard coat the foam with fiberglass and then make a hole in the set up glass, fill with acetone and it eats the foam away, You are left with a fiberglass shell. Nasty way to do it but it works. If you find something that eats the foam but not the shell same things.
RemyD4U
New Member
Not sure if this is a repost but I've used the spray can version of Plasti Dip by Performix for some of my gloves (which require a lot of movement) and if you apply a few coats it works very well and is super easy. Looks good too! Its available in the US but I'm not sure about elsewhere. Cost: $4/can.
war machine roX
New Member
Hey,i live in UAE abu dhabi and i didn't find anywhere the EVA foam,could you help me?
GrifterCustoms
Active Member
That's a great idea!! I usually just plastidip and then clear coat using a high gloss coating. This is way better....
Read the last post on page 11 :thumbsup
BigPun69
New Member
Canobi said:
Just to save someone the hassle, and to help other Google-ers who landed on this page
Im Beneath Doom
Member
those look damn good
Look up pepacura build (search function). As your parts are already firm, they wont need a coating of resin. Bondo/modge podge, elbow grease and sandpaper for firm surfaces :thumbsup
Alkimistta
New Member
Hi, i would like to buy a PVA glue, but in my city is impossible to find it. I need help, this PVA is suitable for foam and get the effect plastic coat for paint it: Evo Stik Super Evo Bond PVA building glue primer sealer admixture 500ml 122000 | eBay
Thanks.
Thanks.
Ubarad
New Member
I'm having much the same trouble. It's my first build (foam clone trooper helmet) I finished the assembly and PVA coating, then I used Model Pro casting resin for the finish coat, as it was the only type I could find (on Amazon). It has a 2 minute working time, so it's kid of fast to work with. They sent me a card in the package for their direct website specialtyresin.com and I see they also sell Model Pro Slow, which is the same type of casting resin with a 6 minute work time. I bought wet/dry sand paper at Autozone to try and smooth out some of the areas that got clobbed from speedy setting, I planned on using 220->400->1000 grit as you would to buff out a scratch on say a plastic bumper. The 220 seemed to work, but it's terribly slow work similar to sanding bad drywall work. The resin is thin enough in some areas that it wasn't working through the PVA and foam, so I gave up on that approach for now and I'm going to try the blade method Canobi mentioned or at least get a thicker coating on there to have something to sand down.
I am hoping to get some smoother coats now that I have an idea of the work time and know when to stop and also by using foam brushes instead of paint brushes. The bristles seemed to cause some of the issues.
dimensionalbat
Member
I also tried the specialtyresin Model-Pro on my foam Mark3.........you have to be as quick as the Flash to get any large area covered...happy with the outcome but will try the Model Pro Slow with 12 minute work time to see how that works out.
