Thread: Iron Man Costume Help/Suggestions

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Hey guys I'm in the process of finishing my Iron man suit costume for this year. I've consturcted the thing entirely out of cardboard and ductape and I gotta say, after a month and a half of painstakenly cutting all the pieces to make it look as accurate as possible its coming along very nicely. I've finished all the parts now and have coated everything in a layer of duct tape and now i have one last problem. I want to paint it without showing the texture of the duct tape as well as cover up the tape lines and make the suit overall stronger. I was thinking of brushing on a clear coat laquer or polyurethane but these products are mainly meant for wood so I'm not sure how it will it will affect cardboard and duct tape. Also, I'm not sure I can spray paint over the clear coat with the best results. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do to make my suit stronger as well as cover up the duct tape? I'm making a trip to home depot tomorrow to see if I can find something there

The picture below is one from over a week ago, and i recently just made the legs. The helmet is mostly paper mache and plaster ( which is why its the only piece painted) but i dont want to go this route for the entire suit just because it takes sooo long and i figure that has to be something i can do to get the same results.

P.S I'm doing this out of my dorm so any harsh and/or expensive supplies that require a garage and fancy tools are beyond me. I plan on making a much more professional looking suit when i move out, but for now this is what I have to work with

just finished the last bits before the painting process. still a few minor tweaks to go

Ok you can paint over clearcoat (purchase the same paint/clearcoat) example krylon clear spary and krylon red spray, however mixing products/companies is usually bad.
Tremclad is one of the worst paints for playing nicely with other paints/clearcoats.

Now that being said, your suit will be just as strong if you paint first then clear coat or clearcoat then paint.
Paint doesn't like to stick to smooth shiney surfaces like ductape. Because of this I highly recomend krylon fusion for plastic. The acetone in the paint will actually eat into the ductape and make for a better bond.

Now you'll have to do really really thin coats and let them dry between. To much paint will lift the edges of the tape, So you need a few thin coats to seal everything up before you can go to town.

Hiding tape seams with paint/clearcoat is gonna take a lot of paint (I'm thinking 20ish coats with sanding between.)
Do to the flexability of the cardboard and tape, you might find the paint cracks before the end of the night when its that thick.

A coat of epoxy resin (2 part) or fiberglass resin might be the best bet before paint. Again your gonna have to be real carefull the resin doesn't lift the tape or saturate the cardboard.
Add fiberglass cloth to the mix and the suit should be rock solid.

btw awesome costume!

looks good put some EL wire in it to make it glow you can buy it here www.xoxide.com

gesso or modge podge it first. stay away from clear coat or paint otherwise it will warp the carboard or the texture of the board will come out, if you use gesso its flexible and a great filler if your not looking for messy intricate stuff, most stores like michaels will have it. all you have to do is paint, dry and sand as many coats. it will re inforce and smooth out your build. What I would suggest in the future use eva foam(work out/garage foam floor mats) for your suits, they can be cut using the same patterns from your carboard, they have a textured and non textured side. It will also bend and not look boxy. basic tools are the same you would use for cardboard except add a cheap heatgun or blow dryer that gets hot
carboard is great but only if you re-inforce it.

For future help I would suggest the RPF, very experienced costume recreators who are willing to help. Good luck on the costume
heres a few examples ranging from very simple to very detailed using eva foam based supplies


Finished foam suit


mid construction to show it is indeed just foam pieces




detailed build

Very cool!

gesso! good idea, ill defintely give that a shot. As for more detailed builds later, I definitely am planning on making a much better version in the spring. I made this current one out of my dorm room and i started in mid september so i didnt have a whole lot of time to get all the details i wanted but for what its worth I am quite happy on how it turned out so far.

Yeah give the gesso a shot and stay away from fiberglass or bondo, to much sanding and its very volatile and messy stuff.

If you need anymore help Id be glad to help, definietly interested in seeing the finished piece

Originally Posted by carrot

gesso! good idea, ill defintely give that a shot. As for more detailed builds later, I definitely am planning on making a much better version in the spring. I made this current one out of my dorm room and i started in mid september so i didnt have a whole lot of time to get all the details i wanted but for what its worth I am quite happy on how it turned out so far.

Originally Posted by joshspiderman

Attachment 94326

Awesome costumes! Makes me want to watch the movies again, and I just watched them this week! I have to ask, though, what is the other costume in this pic? I know it's probably something totally different, but when it's next to the unfinished Iron Man it looks like Iron Monkey (hahaha)!