Materials Monday: Adhesives

Welcome back for more materials review here at Mikey Does Cosplay. This month I'm going to outline the different types of adhesives I use, how to use them, and what sorts of things they should be used for.

I know I talked about mod podge last time with the finishing products, but I use mod podge just as much as an adhesive. Mod podge works best when the pieces you're gluing together can be pressed or clamped so that they stay in place. This is because it's a fairly wet glue and takes some time to dry, so things can shift or separate if you're not careful. Also, if you're using paper or cardboard, the mod podge can cause it to curl or wrinkle, so it's best if you can use a flat, heavy object (like an encyclopedia or something similar) to keep things flat. I use mod podge a lot with foamcore board when I'm layering the boards together, as well as when I use compressed paperboard (i.e. cereal boxes) or craft foam for raised details. in all of these cases it's best to be able so clamp the pieces, or flatten them with a book or other heavy object to keep things in place and make sure the bond is secure.

E-6000 is useful when you need a strong bond between different pieces. I usually use this when I'm attaching metal or plastic pieces because mod podge just doesn't stick to those materials. It's also nice because it creates a flexible bond, so if you have something that needs to bend, it'll allow for that without the bond letting go. The major downside is that it takes a long time for it to set, so things need to stay nice and steady or they might shift on you. One good method for preventing that is to put the E-6000 on your piece, mush the piece you're attaching onto it to so that the glue is on both pieces, and then separate them again for about 2-3 minutes. When you press the pieces together again, they should stay put much better while the glue finishes drying.
**E-6000 will melt open-cell foams, so don't use it unless you have a sealant coat. Closed-cell foam (EVA and craft foam) are fine.
**E-6000 has a pretty potent odor so I'd recommend using it in well-ventilated areas

Hot glue is the only real instant gratification of adhesives, but with the downside of it being a much weaker bond than our other choices. If you need a strong bond between your materials, this probably isn't the way to go, however it is very useful for certain materials. I use hot glue a lot with craft foam, because it bonds fairly well to the foam and adheres quickly. It's generally strong enough (especially if you're gluing two pieces of foam together) that you shouldn't have any issues with things falling apart. It's best when you're going to cover the whole piece with worbla, because then the bond is ultimately superfluous anyway, once the worbla cools and hardens. Hot glue is also useful when attaching fabric, because of the porous nature of the fabric. You just have to be careful not to get any hot glue in places you don't want, because it's nearly impossible to get hot glue off of fabric once it's on there.

Along with E-6000, contact cement is one of the strongest adhesives you can use. The way to use contact cement is to paint a layer on each surface you're bonding, and then let it sit for about 20-30 minutes. Once that time is up, you press the pieces firmly together and it creates a strong bond between them. You generally want to leave it for an hour or so after you've pressed the pieces together, before you mess with it too much, but it's not going to go anywhere without a decent bit of force trying to separate the pieces. This is useful when you're bonding pieces that aren't flat or easy to clamp together, because you let the pieces dry separately, and then when you press them together they will stick without shifting. You just have to be careful to place it correctly because it will be difficult to fix once the pieces are pressed together.
**Contact cement will melt open-cell foams, so don't use it unless you have a sealant coat. Closed-cell foam (EVA and craft foam) are fine.
**Contact cement has a very strong odor so you should always make sure you're in a well-ventilated area when you're using it. I've given myself headaches with this stuff before so be smart and be careful.

I use these 4 adhesives pretty exclusively on my projects but there are plenty of other good ones out there that I'm less familiar with. If you have any you like to use that I haven't mentioned, let me know so I can share with my followers!

May All Your Bacon Burn

Welcome back to another throwback thursday! I feel like I've almost been too consistent with these because I am quickly running out of costumes! But no matter, we're going to chug right along and show off the pretty boy wizard: Howl.

Now of course when you cosplay Howl, you can't just have Howl... what fun would that be? At the very least you need a Calcifer, but I thought Heen would make a nice companion as well.

I initially made this costume in part because I had a friend who made Markl, and that's essentially what propted me to make a Heen plush as well. This was a while ago and I had no real clue what I was doing when it came to making plushies so he ended up rather loaf-shaped... but then again Heen is supposed to be kinda loaf-shaped so it worked out alright.

Materials Monday: Finishing Products

This time around, I wanted to do a review of finishing products, since it's be super short and probably not very interesting if I did individual posts for each product.

Paint

Up first is probably the most important thing when it comes to props and cosplay: paint. I mean, it's generally how you get your stuff to be the color you need it to be!

When it comes to paint, simple acryllics are my go-to for just about everything. They're inexpensive, come in a wide variety of colors, and are available at any craft store in large quantities/varieties.

While there are lots of different brands to choose from, my favorites are Americana and Folk Art. I feel like they are generally very consistent in their colors and quality, though that's not to say that other brands fall short, it's just my personal preference. I also like those brands because they have a little sticker on top that has the color on it so they're easy to compare.

When it comes to metallic colors, if I'm brushing them on, I tend to use Dazzling Metallics by DecoArt. They work well and come in a variety of shades so you can usually find what you need.

Since we're talking about paint, I feel like now is the perfect time to remind everyone to BASE COAT YOUR SHIT. Metallic colors will end up way more even if you use a base coat of a similar color. The same thing goes for warm hues (pink, red, orange, yellow), the pigment tends to not be as strong, so it doesn't cover as well. If you use a darker base coat it'll come out looking a lot better, and you shouldn't have to paint 8000 coats to get it looking nice. For the warm hues, I generally use a darker, brownish color as a base coat. For yellows, you still want to use a brown tone, but you'll want to use a lighter color so your yellow doesn't come out super wonky.

And of course, when it comes to metallics or painting in general, spraying your items works well in most circumstances. The upside of spray paint is that it goes on a lot quicker and more evenly than brush painting. The obvious downsides are that you can only really spray on one color, you'll have to paint the other colors by hand. Also, there's the issue of overspray. If you're spray painting something that has parts you don't want to get paint on, you'll want to make sure those parts are covered. I usually use a plastic grocery bag and some masking tape.

When it comes to spray paint brands, I'm a little less picky, because the colors are generally more limited than what you can find in the 2 oz. bottles of acryllic, so I usually just try to find the best color for my project.

Sealants

Sealants are super important for prop making because it accomplishes several things all at once:
-It helps bind all of the different pieces together
-It helps protect the base materials
-It smooths out the surface of your prop
-It can help you achieve the sheen/finish you want
-It keeps your paint from chipping as easily

When I make props I usually use sealant coats in two steps: before and after I paint the item. Using sealant coats before painting helps reinforce the adhesive holding all of the pieces together and smooths out the surface of your props. It also provides a good paintable surface for things that may not hold paint as well, such as smooth plastic and foam.
**An important note when using styrofoam and other open-celled foams: Most spray paint and certain adhesives can melt your foam; using a sealant layer (usually multiple just to be safe) is the best way to keep this from happening.

After I finish painting my props, I generally add another sealant layer. This helps protect the paint, as well as giving the prop the sheen I want. You can even use different sealants in different places if you want the sheen to be different.

Yes, you all know I go through a ton of mod podge. It's what I use most often for both my base sealant coat and my top coat because I like the satiny finish the matte mod podge has. For things that I want to be shinier, there's also a gloss mod podge that works quite well. As a warning, I've noticed the gloss mod podge does have a fairly strong odor, so you should be aware and want to make sure you have some ventilation when you're working with it.

My other go-to when it comes to sealant coats is shellac. It's similar to polyurethane but it dries a lot quicker and it comes in spray form as well as brush-on form. There are pretty much two instances I use shellac over mod podge. First if i have paper portions that need to be sealed, shellac is a much better choice. Since you can spray the shellac on, it goes on in a much more even, and thinner coat than you can easily achieve with a brish and some mod podge. This helps keep the paper or card stock from wrinkling or curling when you want it to remain flat. Also, since it can be sprayed, I'll use it when I'm more pressed for time.
I should also note that shellac has a very glossy finish, so your stuff will end up being pretty shiny if you use this as a top coat.