theathomas•17d agoOG Member

Hit 50 foam builds and finally got why people use contact cement

I was a hot glue only person for like three years. Told everyone contact cement was overkill and smelled nasty. Then last weekend I finished my 50th foam prop, a big shoulder pauldron for a fantasy armor set. The hot glue joint gave out while I was test fitting it and the whole thing fell apart. That was the moment I caved and bought a can of contact cement. Used it on a smaller piece the next day and wow, it actually holds. No more popping seams or re-gluing the same spot twice. Has anyone else had a specific build count or moment that made them switch glues for good?

2 comments

2 Comments

robinson.paul17d agoMost Upvoted

Did you try any other methods before you caved, like maybe cleaning the surfaces better or using more hot glue on the seam? I'm asking because I've got a buddy who swears by roughing up the foam with sandpaper before hot gluing, says it gives the glue more to grab onto. Could be that your 50th build was just the breaking point for a problem that was building up over time, you know? Like maybe the real lesson wasn't about contact cement, but about how hot glue just doesn't hold up to the stress of a big piece like a pauldron that sits under strain.

john_johnson7517d ago

Nah, I gotta push back on that a bit lol. If you're on your 50th build and you're just now having a problem with hot glue on big pieces, that sounds more like you got lucky for 49 builds rather than the glue being the issue. Sandpaper trick is cool and all, but contact cement is literally made for this kind of stress, hot glue is just a convenience thing. I've seen pauldrons pop off at cons because someone skimped on the cement, and that's a bummer when you've been working on it for weeks.