how to edge glue thin foamies

[wesalexleft]

I'm working on my first IM IV costume and learning as I go. Picked up many tips from here to me get started, and now learning my own "technique" as I go as well. Things have been improving and progressing pretty well, until I wanted to build the neckseal and helmet out of thinner foamies. I've been using the 6-7mil fatigue mat from Harbor Freight for most of the build. This foam is thick enough to hold an angle while glueing. When I tried the neckseal with 3mm, it just didn't want to hold the shape. I struggled to get any kind of glue edge as well when butting the pieces together. Then I thought I would try backing it with some 2mm, but that didn't seem to hold a crisp line either. Can someone tell me where I'm going wrong? Should I stick with the thicker foam pad for the neck and helmet? I'd like to get the neckseal completed as my warmup for the helmet. I'd read threads here where people advised to go with the thinner foam for the helmet and neckseal.

Aside from that, upper torso is done. I'm fairly pleased. There are some flaws, but this is going together for Halloween and I'm trying to complete the full suit by then. As usual, I started to late to do the best job, but after the holiday, I may come back and revisit it piece by piece for more of a quality build.

Thanks,

 

[ThatPhoenixGuy]

I'm struggling with almost the same problem with my MKIII. I tried to build the helmet out of 8mm foam but the foam I'm using is pretty solid and doesn't bend that well. So I've tried 5mm Plastazote and figured out that it's much harder to handle. I think XRobots for example built his entire suit out of 10mm Plastazote. That should be thick enough to provide proper edges to work with but still bendy enough to get all the curved lines done. I'm right now waiting for my 10mm Plastazote to be delivered and I'd be glad to tell you how things work out

 

[BAK55]

I've only made one item with foam so far, so my advice may be a bit off.

It seems to me that if you bevel both edges before gluing, you'd have more surface for the glue to adhere to. Sort of like making an exaggerated "Z" with the mated edges.

 

[laellee]

I bevel my edges on 90% of pieces as well, and it does help a lot. For those clean angles with thinner foam, I lay one of the edges to glue flat on my board and then back the edge of the second piece with my metal ruler to keep it straight. Position the two pieces together starting at one end, get the angle right, and then back the bevel with a bead of hot glue. Unless it's a flat edge, you can only go a little at a time, but it creates a very sharp and clean edge for me. Once it dries, any glue that has seeped to the outside of the piece can be trimmed with scissors or a razor. The bead on the back side also strengthens the corner overall, and you can always run a second bead to thicken it.

Just my experience too, but if you bevel your foam always bevel more than less. The bead will make up the extra gap on the back side, otherwise edges that aren't beveled enough will not lay clean and smooth. I can get really sharp edges using this technique.

 

[P4r4dox86]

I have some experience using thin foam for things like IM gloves etc, I have used everything from 2mm/3mm/5mm etc. What I do is to apply the glue to the edge of ONE of the pieces you want to attach together, then place second pieces so that only the two TOP edges touch (ie, the edges that are going to be on the outside of the piece) so that it is like a V shape, then sandwich the two pieces together so that any excess glue will squirt onto the INSIDE of the pieces where it doesn't matter as much. Being that is has a much smaller surface area to bind than the thicker foam, hold it in place with your hands until you're sure it's dry and if you're doing a long edge, only do a couple of centremetres at a time along the edge rather than attempting the whole length at once, this will make your life immeasurably easier. Once the whole edge is done and dry, apply a small amount of hot glue to the BACK of the seam and use the nozzle of the gun to spread it along the seam across both pieces. This aids in strengthening the join. I do this even with thicker foam to add stability and strength to my builds.

Hope this helps , any questions or things you're unclear on, feel free to ask.

 

[Bob McCormick]

For gluing 3mm craft foamie pieces edge-to-edge, what's worked well for me is to use a good quality super glue (I use Zap-A-Gap), and then back the seam either with a thin strip cut from another piece of foamie, or with hotglue.