Problems with EVA foam / Barge cement

[JediMasterAubie]

Hi Everyone,
I'm trying the EVA foam floor mats costuming methods as promoted by Bill Doran and Evil Ted. It's been going pretty well up until I start trying to adhere things together to force things to curve or dome. What's happening is the seams are pulling. I've tried varying the set time between making contact with the two pieces, I've tried making the layer of cement as thin as possible, nothing seems to be fixing the problem.

Both of these guys have sworn up and down to use Barge All Purpose Cement so that's exactly what I'm using.

Any ideas what I'm doing wrong?

 

[cavedwellar]

How long are you letting the glue dry on each side?


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[JediMasterAubie]

I started with waiting until it was dry to the touch but tacky and have experimented with waiting longer. I really haven't timed it but I would say minutes, no more than 5.

 

[Riceball]

I started with waiting until it was dry to the touch but tacky and have experimented with waiting longer. I really haven't timed it but I would say minutes, no more than 5.

You need to wait longer, I wait at least 15 minutes, typically around 20, before connecting pieces and I have no problems.

 

[TJackFx]

You need to wait longer, I wait at least 15 minutes, typically around 20, before connecting pieces and I have no problems.

I second this - unless you are applying heat with a hairy dryer or something to speed things up, you will need to give it more time for the cement to set up properly.

 

[SimplyTim]

I third that statement, and will add to it that using heat to pre-bend your pieces will help tremendously! But the 15-20 minute wait before bonding is essential with ANY contact cement, including the Wilwood "Dap" contact cement that I prefer for it's availability. Any contact cement bonded before it is ready will never fully cure no matter how long you wait.

 

[Nismo]

Also when pressing the part together are you physically holding them together for like 30 to 60 seconds before letting go?

 

[JediMasterAubie]

Thanks everyone! I have been preheating to coax some dome-age into the parts before attempting to cement everything. I'll give the 15 min set time a go this evening and let you all know if this solves my problem.
In regards to how long I'm holding things together, as long as it takes to get a good adherence. These splits happen when I'm moving down the seam or start showing up a little while after the whole seam's been cemented.

 

[JediMasterAubie]

It was entirely not letting the cement set up long enough before pressing the two pieces together. Things lost in the magic of editing youtube vids. Thanks for the help!

 

[Zlurpo]

Another tip (although it sounds like you've got it well figured out) is that you need to be sure there isn't too much glue on there. It should be a thin even coat, because if it's thick the outside will dry and the inside will still be gooey. So make sure it's smeared very thin with excess glue removed.

 

[JediMasterAubie]

Yep. I'm still having some pull apart, I presume just the amount of tensile force in the helmet and the elasticity of the cement. But significantly improved by comparison to the pic in the first msg