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[Sh4xx]

Alright guys. so im gonna be making a set of shoulder armor for my costume out of styrofoam sheets bought from home depot *the pink ones* or from lowes *the blue ones* Gonna have them cut to the shape i need it. But i have a few questions i need to have answered before i start my costume.

1. What glue can i use to stick the pink or blue styrofoam insulation sheets together?
2. whats the best things to use to carve it *they need to be rounded shoulders at the end*
3. what grit sand paper do i need?
4. What can i seal it with to prevent the foam from chipping, cracking, breaking and making it more rigid.
5. what can i paint it with? needs to be sealed before hand or anything is safe after sealing it


thank you to anyone that helps me.. will be much appreciated. ill try and get a picture of the costume i am making soon.

[Tj_05]

1. Liquidnails (Make sure you get the right kind for Foam, there are a few different ones)
2. Hot Knife Cutter (A box cutter could work but it's more likely to take some chunks off)
3. Around 180 grit sand paper.
4-5. I would paint it before you seal it. Put a couple layers of Gesso on it (It's a white goopy paint used as a base). After that, you can use fiberglass resin to harden it (Make sure you use a mask and gloves when using resin though). After the resin, sand it again, then add a final paint job. An acrylic paint should be fine.

[Blue Leader]

Another idea for sealing the foam is using wood glue before the resin. I did that for one of my projects; after I carved the foam I coated it with a few layers of wood glue (I let each coat dry before I put on the next), and once the final coat was dry I spread on the resin. The wood glue will stay slightly tacky so the resin will stick to it, and it usually can help give things a flatter, smoother surface.

For example...

1. http://www.cosplay.com/photo/3227723/ (This is just foam and a little bit of craft foam on one side to give it a slightly thicker surface there.)
2. http://www.cosplay.com/photo/3266400/ (I did use a little bit of PaperClay so I could more accurately carve lines and to easily round the edges. Then it was all covered in wood glue, which is what makes it look yellow. After that I spread on the resin.)
3. http://www.cosplay.com/photo/3272899/ (And here it is painted and finished.)