introduction to EVA Foam Armor Crafting

Basic Tools & Supplies

Basic Materials

EVA Foam - 1/2" thick 2' x 2' square -48 Square Feet ( 12 tiles + borders) 'We Sell Mats' Charcoal Gray 2' x 2' x 3/8" Anti-Fatigue Interlocking EVA Foam Exercise Gym Flooring
Fun Foam - 2mm, 3mm, & 5mm (Silly Winks brand at Hobby Lobby)
Posterboard
Card Stock

Construction Tools

Sharpie Permanent Marker, Fine Point, Black, Pack of 5 - for tracing patterns onto EVA foam
3M Double-Sided Tape with Dispenser, Permanent, 1/2 X 250 Inches, Clear (MMM136) - for securing paper templates to EVA foam
Super Glue. We prefer:
- Loctite 15 second liquid - 6 Pack Super Glue Bottle, .18 oz, Super Glue Liquid by LOCTITE - for general gluing
- Loctite Super Glue Liquid Professional for touching up edges of fun foam & quick gluing
Nitrile Gloves (for supergluing, foam coating, and plastidipping)
Shop Gloves - I like Mechanix Wear (for working with heat gun)
X-acto Knife
- Xacto X3311 #1 Precision Knife With 5 No. 11 Blades - This has a slightly smaller blade & a thinner handle. Good for tight curves & detail work
- X-ACTO #2 Knife with Cap, Silver (X3602) - slightly larger blade, thicker handle. This one is better than the No. 1 Precision Knife for people with less hand strength.
Self Healing Mat (the larger the better) such as: OLFA 9891 RM-MG 24-Inch x 36-Inch Self-Healing Double-Sided Rotary Mat
Heat Gun - Black & Decker HG1300 Dual Temperature Heat Gun
Dremel Tool - We prefer the corded variable speed Dremel, not the battery powered variety. We use the Dremel 3000-1/31 Rotary Tool Kit
Dremel 225-01 Flex Shaft Attachment (good if you have good hand/arm strength) -
1/2" Sanding Drum attachment - One should come with your Dremel tool, but I like the quick change mandrel - Dremel EZ407SA EZ Drum Sanding Band and Mandrel
Various Grinding stone attachments for detail work
Metal Straight Edge -Westcott Stainless Steel Office Ruler With Non Slip Cork Base, 18"
Heat Knife - Dremel 1550 T2 Versa Tip Multipurpose Tool Kit

Foam Coating

Foam Coat from Black Tie FX
Spray Cans of PlastiDip - Performix 11203-6PK Plasti Dip Black Multi-Purpose Rubber Coating Aerosol - 11 oz., (Pack of 6)

Painting

Acrylic Paints from Hobby Lobby or Wal-Mart for base coat, washes & some of the drybrushing
Variety of paint brushes
Testors Aluminum or Steel for battle damage & edges of metal pieces
Martha Stuart Living Metallic Paint from Home Depot

On to Creating the Pattern ->