alanisfuzzy
New Member
I'm planning to use foam to create two separate pieces for the same costume: rubber tire armor, and a leather belt. I've been researching how to finish the foam, but I've found a lot of contradictory advice, and all of it is for costumes that are imitating metal or plastic. Metal and plastic are much glossier than rubber or leather, so I'm guessing I might need to use different methods (or could leave out some of the steps) than for metal/plastic finishes. This is what I'm working on:
Rubber tire armor: Using 10mm foam. Needs to be matte but smooth in most places. Can be rigid. I'll need to drill a metal screw through it to hold the two pieces together. May need to be painted to make the black look more like very dark gray, like a real used tire (if I don't end up painting it, does it even need to be sealed and finished at all?).
Leather belt: Using 2mm foam. I'll iron it under crunched up foil to create the leather texture. Should have the slight glossiness of worn leather, but could be matte if necessary. Needs to be very flexible. Will definitely need to be painted to give it a mottled color. I'll also need to glue multiple pieces of foam together to create the grid effect, and may glue the whole thing to fabric as well.
Does anyone know what materials (paint, sealant, adhesive) and steps I should use to achieve a rubber and leather effect? I would prefer not to use extremely toxic materials, as my options for working outdoors are limited. I'm planning to use black EVA foam in different thicknesses for both items, but I haven't bought it yet so I'm open to other types of foam if those would work better.
Thanks!
Rubber tire armor: Using 10mm foam. Needs to be matte but smooth in most places. Can be rigid. I'll need to drill a metal screw through it to hold the two pieces together. May need to be painted to make the black look more like very dark gray, like a real used tire (if I don't end up painting it, does it even need to be sealed and finished at all?).
Leather belt: Using 2mm foam. I'll iron it under crunched up foil to create the leather texture. Should have the slight glossiness of worn leather, but could be matte if necessary. Needs to be very flexible. Will definitely need to be painted to give it a mottled color. I'll also need to glue multiple pieces of foam together to create the grid effect, and may glue the whole thing to fabric as well.
Does anyone know what materials (paint, sealant, adhesive) and steps I should use to achieve a rubber and leather effect? I would prefer not to use extremely toxic materials, as my options for working outdoors are limited. I'm planning to use black EVA foam in different thicknesses for both items, but I haven't bought it yet so I'm open to other types of foam if those would work better.
Thanks!
