Got told my EVA foam edges were too ragged and it fixed my whole build

At a con last month, a random cosplayer pointed out my armor had these fuzzy seam lines I never noticed before, and she showed me how to sand at a 45 degree angle. I went home and tried it on my WIP Mandalorian helmet and the difference was night and day, like actual prop quality. Has anyone else had a stranger give them a tip that totally upgraded their budget build game?

2 comments

2 Comments

christopher_coleman171d ago

That 45-degree sanding trick is a game changer-I started doing it on my foam knife cuts before heat sealing and it sharpens every edge like you cut it with a laser cutter. Pair it with a quick pass of a wood burning tool on the seams and your budget build suddenly looks like it cost three times what you actually paid.

emery6031d ago

You know what nobody talks about with that sanding trick though... the dust. Fine foam dust gets everywhere and if you're not careful it'll clog up your sandpaper in like two passes. I started hitting my foam with a tack cloth first to knock off the loose stuff and it made a huge difference. Also something I figured out by accident - if you hit those sanded edges with a heat gun on low for just a second before you glue, it slightly melts the surface and gives you a stronger bond. The wood burning tip on seams is legit though, I use a cheap soldering iron with a flat tip and it works just as good for way less money.