3M wrap ideas

J

jayutmb

Active Member
So... I am new to all this as of now all I have been up to is building 1:1 R2 droid.... but i want to start making replica armor..ect.. I have been looking at alot of stuff people are doing on here and the work is great ! However.... I have noticed that with the foam builds after they are painted there still is a look that it is foam.... has anyone used car wrap to do some work in place of painting yet? I have been experimenting with it on my droid and it looks like real " steel" or whatever you are trying to go for ... Was thinking of trying to transfer that to this armor building somehow.. any thought? :)
 
sounds good. if you can come up with a way to coat foam then it would be awesome. please do show some work :)
 
So I have been trying the car wrap from 3m ( 1080) and can't tell from pics but it looks like metal and is easy... However on domes.. Ect bit more challenging ImageUploadedByTapatalk1390481610.517558.jpgImageUploadedByTapatalk1390481640.860252.jpg


Who is John Galt...
 
foilonfoam.jpg

Here is a picture of one of my tries to find an alternative to plastic coating the foam suit. It does work, but:
1. The foam has to be sealed!
2. The best way is to apply it to the foam before you cut it or bend it.
3. The results are not as nice if you try to wrap a sealed, assembled piece because the foam stays flexible. Because of that you can't pull the wrap around your object like you could if it would be a rigid piece. You always run the risk of warping the foampiece.
4. If you apply the wrap on a sealed sheet of foam before you cut the templates out and assemble them there is no margin for error while glueing the pieces together. Every unclean seam will become that much more visible.

I am going to try this out on a few pieces and will post pictures here. I think it is a good idea that deserves to be explored. Another question would be how that wrapping foil behaves when you paint it.
 
The 3M 1080 auto wrap comes in alot of colors and bends and twists very easy when you heat it, however the surface must be sanded smooth as everything will show. I have tested the brushed aluminum color and put rub & buff silver leaf on it and have to say it looks just like brushed aluminum.. I am thinking that the other colors that are available will have similar properties depending on what one is trying to do.. Amazon.com sells the 3M wrap for a decent price
 
Looking forward to seeing more pictures as the idea sounds very good and it is looking good thus far. Excited to see more attempts!
 
How thick is the 3M auto wrap? I have a background in sign writing and we used to wrap car's in vynil from 3M and others, so I can offer some suggestions if you would like :)
 
Well I would suggest you grab a heat gun, with foam or the vynl, it's wicked handy for shaping. Most vynl will heat and go very soft and stretchy, which comes in handy for corners and pushing into gaps. But only use a low heat and quick passes over the area you intend to "bend". Too much heat will shrink the vynl and potentially ruin the adhesive so test before use.

A trick we use for applying where we are unsure and wish to prevent air bubbles is using soapy water.

If you are working on a fairly flat and hard surface with a whole piece of vynl, remove the backing with the vynl face down. Use a spray bottle with water and a few drops of dish washing liquid mixed in and lightly spray the vynl backing. Flip it over and line it up, use a plastic card/applicator and work from the middle out to either side. Push firmly but not heavily from the middle to top then down, this secures the vynl to the surface. Now lift up a side until you reach the middle. Keep holding the side up. Let it slack a little so the vynl contacts the surface and start the top down motion again, firmly. This pushes the air/water out and leaves a smooth even surface. Take care to not keep the vynl too taught else you might rip through it. The soapy water should give you plenty of tackiness while allowing you to lift any areas up if you make an error.

BE CAREFUL when pulling up the vynl, if you have a brittle type or its cold enough it will tear and you will need to start over and remove the vynl before it sticks.

Using the stick and go method above dry can be done too, but I would recommend pulling back a small section of the backing paper (like 1/2 inch) first to stick on to the foam/whatever then slowly pull the backing away as you apply the vynl. It should give the same results but will stick permanately first go. It *should* also bend with the foam without issue, but once again TEST before getting stuck into it.

Practice on off cuts or cheaper material of the same make before using that nice 3M metal stuff, $200 a metre is damn pricey. When you can work with gold leaf material that costs in excess of $1000 for half a metre and not bugger it up, you can be assured you did good :)

Not the best tutorial but it might help, plus I will come back to see if I can help ;)
 
yea that about it. It does take alot of practice to get it right... It is a bit tricky to get use to :) and yes it is hard, but it will work on anything so long as the surface is smooth
 
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