are camping mats good for making costumes?

[Meathead316]

Hi

Im making a costume and i need something to make it out of that is cheap, easy to work with and glue. I have seen some on these foums using foam, will camping mats like these work:

Copy of Foam camping mat exercise roll

if not what should i be looking for?

thanks

 

[Shylaah]

Apparently so. Check out BROTHERFOSTER's thread. He made an IRON MAN MARK I out of camp mats. Pretty stellar looking!!

Shylaah

 

[Darth Lars]

Before seeing BROTHERFOSTER's creation, I would say not.
Polyethylene does not take paint or glue very well. If you plan on gluing or painting much, then this is not the right material. All open-cell foam can be glued with contact cement, though, because it is open-cell foam.
I have used it only for helmet padding. It can be heated gently and then shaped with your hands, but heated just a little bit too much and it melts away.

 

[EvilFX]

Closed Cell, EVA sheet foam is what you want to use. Just Google EVA foam sheets or EVA interlocking floor padding.

 

[Kommissar]

that's your medium of choice, right Evil?
have a look at his Mass effect armor thread, it's very impressive and just foam and hot glue.

 

[Meathead316]

thanks. i took a look at evils thread, very impressed i must say!

i then did a search for the EVA foam mats and found these:

NEW CONFIDENCE FITNESS EVA FLOOR PROTECTION MATS/GUARDS on eBay (end time 10-Aug-10 15:17:57 BST)
black which is good, and smooth. but they are more expnsive than these:

JUDO GYM INTERLOCKING FLOORING EVA FOAM FLOOR MAT EV12 on eBay (end time 01-Aug-10 14:06:22 BST)
which are bumpy. anyone know if they are bumpy on both sides or smooth on one? i need smooth, and am also on a budget. how hard would it be to get the bumpy one and smooth it out if need be?

 

[clonesix]

Yes, I have seen some cools stuff done with camp mats. Not all camp/yoga mats are the same. As noted, you want the EVA foam mats. Also impotant is how you cut the mat. Scissors will crush the mat upon cutting and give an uneven edge. If you use a sharp utility knife or hot wire, you will get a cleaner edge for gluing.

 

[EvilFX]

anyone know if they are bumpy on both sides or smooth on one? i need smooth, and am also on a budget. how hard would it be to get the bumpy one and smooth it out if need be?

Usually they are patterned on one side and smooth on the other.

For cutting I recommend a Hobby/Craft Hot knife. It will give you pretty clean cuts but I still dremil sand all my edges after cutting.

 

[BROTHERFOSTER]

Hi

Im making a costume and i need something to make it out of that is cheap, easy to work with and glue. I have seen some on these foums using foam, will camping mats like these work:

Copy of Foam camping mat exercise roll

if not what should i be looking for?

thanks

Camp mats are easy to work with! Follow this thread: http://www.therpf.com/f24/iron-man-mark-i-my-version-90318/

 

[Capn_Jack_Savvy]

I have some of the kids interlocking Eva foam mats but they are textured on both side. Is there a specific type of Eva foam mat that is smooth on one side?

Is there a good way to get the textured side smooth?

 

[BROTHERFOSTER]

I have some of the kids interlocking Eva foam mats but they are textured on both side. Is there a specific type of Eva foam mat that is smooth on one side?

Is there a good way to get the textured side smooth?

I kind of steer away from those EVA mats and primarily used the closed cell polyethylene material. To get the paint to stick to the polyethylene, use a product called FLEXBOND by Rosco. It makes a nice painting surface.

 

[Frosteon]

What costume are you working on, Meathead?

On a side note, I think this stuff could work for MK Ninjas, depending on which one

 

[BROTHERFOSTER]

I've been working with camp mats for years and it's great stuff.

 

[izabel]

we use "polyurethane rubber" as what paulfierce said is the scientific name of the rubber we use. I call it rubber - used for making flip-flops. :lol normall thickness we use is 2mm but there's a variety of thickness and texture available. i thik it's close to EVA foam right? :confused

 

[izabel]

Closed Cell, EVA sheet foam is what you want to use. Just Google EVA foam sheets or EVA interlocking floor padding.

Usually they are patterned on one side and smooth on the other.

For cutting I recommend a Hobby/Craft Hot knife. It will give you pretty clean cuts but I still dremil sand all my edges after cutting.

the sheets we use are smooth on both sides. when we want textured, one side is textured.

I have some of the kids interlocking Eva foam mats but they are textured on both side. Is there a specific type of Eva foam mat that is smooth on one side?

Is there a good way to get the textured side smooth?

I kind of steer away from those EVA mats and primarily used the closed cell polyethylene material. To get the paint to stick to the polyethylene, use a product called FLEXBOND by Rosco. It makes a nice painting surface.

we normally paint directly if there is no time but if we have time, Robert primes it first.

 

[clonesix]

we use "polyurethane rubber" as what paulfierce said is the scientific name of the rubber we use. I call it rubber - used for making flip-flops. :lol normall thickness we use is 2mm but there's a variety of thickness and texture available. i thik it's close to EVA foam right? :confused

EVA (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate) is the tech name. It is in flip-flops, and running shoes.

I have found small quantities, but it would much better if it came in a roll. You might find this in the camping isle, but beware, there are several types of camp mats, just as there are several different types of yoga mats.

I also believe it can be (within limits) heat shaped, so you can get compound curves.

 

[Meathead316]

hi

so i bough an eva interlocking mat for £1.99 posted just to mess with. only thing is its textured on both sides, but i have found some smooth ones but ther are more expensive but i will buy them if i am happy with the foam after ive had a play with it and for now i will just smooth my one with sand paper or something.

i plan on using a hot glue gun to stick it and a very sharp craft knife to cut it.

how about painting? surely if i use standard paint (and by standard i mean car spray paint) it will crack where the foam has some flex to it? please advise on this matter.

someone asked what costume im making, at present none that will require eva foam, but i do want to at some point attempt iron man, and a while back i startedc a robocop out of cardboard and want to start over using a different medium and i think foam will be good.

i am however in the process of making an abc robot but its an on/off type thing so progress is very very slow and not much to show really, but ill be sure to post something when there is!