Painting foam armor (Iron man Mark VI)

NamedJohnny

New Member
I would like to know how to paint the foam correctly and how much money it will takes for all the suit. (and how many times approx.)

Thanks for your answers!

A little look at my suit...
 
The foam needs to be sealed first, using either PVA glue or Plasti-Dip. Cost will vary depending on what you use. Once each piece has been sealed, three to four coats should do it, then you can prime and paint.
 
use the pva (wood glue) or actual mod podge. pick your paint. do however man coats it take and do 1-2 coats podge to seal it.
no one ever told me to seal it after painting and i got cracks everywhere. after i podged it, i got no more cracks.
just like painting a car. prep, paint, seal

btw. you cant get plasti-dip in canada anymore, it is against our VOC emission rules.
and why spend $20 on 1 can of plasti when you can spend $14 on podge, and its clear

and i should be doing a paint tutorial soon.
 
Thanks for your advices, but I decide to not color it Red and Gold. I prefer Silver color, like for the Mark 2. I would like the same result than this :
iron-man-mk4-wip-fingaz-joint-covers-file0073.jpg-62580d1312749152


or

IM6_025.jpg



is it possible?
 
yes you can pant it what ever colour your want but it still has to be sealed first, if you want it to look all seamless then you will have to plastic coat it or rondo it after its sealed.
 
i use pva glue on my suit before painting
6 or 7 coats of PVA glue diluyed on water ,no more of 10% of water
and paint with titan metalic spray red colour (655) its more darker of candy red ,but is very shiny under the sun light
 
You've got a lot of good answer here.
However, I want to clarify something - Mod Podge and PVA glue are not exactly the same thing.

From comments I've seen on my tutorials and based on STEALTH foam armor tutorials - these 2 products don't behave in the same way. If you go with PVA glue, you'll have to thin it with water (to a milk-like consistency) and apply a lot of coats (STEALTH suggests 5 in his tutorial). As for Mod Podge, I would avoid it completely - it is not flexible enough when dry to make a durable finish for foam armor (that's my opinion).

I've been using a different product for years and only had good result with it - but it's a bit more expensive (and harder to find) ... and it will give your similar result of using PVA glue (but I need to appley less coat). The product I'm referring to is Flexbond from the company Rosco.

Lately I've been ordering from these guys:
http://www.stagestore.ca/product_info.php/products_id/707

Regardless of the product you'll be using - the process is the same.
As Grave mentionned already - you need to seel the foam first (PVA), then paint, then use a top coat.
If you want an even more durable paintjob, then you can seal over the paint again and then apply the top coat as the last step.

Finally - as for your last post question... I don't think you can acheive the same result. The armor pictures looks like a resin cast and if it is, then it has very different properties than your foam armor. The foam you've used seems to have a very strong texture... so even after all the sealing and painting - this will still show through and might not look good in a silver/chrome only setup.

Best advise we could give you - is try it out on foam scraps first.
Then you'll see exactly what your suit will look like after the whole process and you can decide to continue with the silver or go with red and gold.

Good Luck!!!
 
If I leave only the grey primer and I don't add new paint on it, is it ok or not recommended?

If you like it thats all that matters at the end of the day. There are no rules when prop making. Check my thread out and see how It is possible to get an awesome finish on foam. I also use modpodge so and It works perfect but You dont have to take my word for it my work speaks for itself. Dont be afraid to experiment and try new things u dnt have to listen when people say u shouldnt cuz I sure dont. Its all for fun:)http://http://www.therpf.com/f24/ironman-mark-vii-coated-rondo-pics-shoulder-149883/
 
Hi, I begin to seal the foam, but I noticed that the surface of my foam (after 5 layers of wood glue with water) was rough and not smouth. I watch the video of TheHeroTutorial for painting foam and after 5 layers all seems smooth and shinny for his biceps foam. Mine doesn't.

P.S: When i finish the first layer I must wait the glue to disappear to apply the second layer? Because thats what i did for all the layers. Is that okay?

Thanks for yours answers

Here is a picture of my rough biceps:
 
just use mod podge and cut out all the bull$#!%. ive tried lots of stuff. but unless you are going to plastic coat it like xrobot. just use what has been used for decades and has been proven to work every time.
 
Is this possible? Will it look good?

craft foam
sealed with mod podge
primed
spray painted with auto paint and gloss top coat
coated with fibreglass (polyester) resin

?

I've started, and painted a few parts, but not satisfied with the result. If I go back over it and do it again, I was thinking of sanding down the top layers of paint a bit, and applying resin for a smoother finish, then repaint.

I know polyester resin will corrode foam, but what if it's used after the foam is sealed with glue/podge/paint? Just wondering because it's easier for me to access polyester than epoxy.

Ideally, the layers would be foam-glue-primer-resin-paint-gloss
 
This thread is more than 10 years old.

Your message may be considered spam for the following reasons:

  1. This thread hasn't been active in some time. A new post in this thread might not contribute constructively to this discussion after so long.
If you wish to reply despite these issues, check the box below before replying.
Be aware that malicious compliance may result in more severe penalties.
Back
Top