How To Add A Fabric Finish to Foam

Ever wanted to have a smooth fabric-like finish on a piece of foam? Maybe you need it for a special trim or you want to add metallic spandex to a piece of armor. Here is a step-by-step tutorial on how to do a perfect fabric finish on your foam piece.

Materials Needed:

• Contact Cement
• Rubber or silicon spatula to spread the glue (a scrap piece of foam works well here too!)
• A flat sided object, like a clay sculpting tool
• A stretchy fabric

Notes:

• Wear PPE and working a well ventilated area when working with contact cement as the vapors can be harmful
• Test the glue on your fabric BEFORE applying the glue to it. Some fabrics are not thick enough and the glue will seep through the fabric, ruining the final look. For this tutorial, I used a metallic spandex with a slightly rubbery backing.

Steps

1. Add a layer of contract cement to the foam piece

2. Spread the glue out evenly in a thin layer using the spatula (or foam scrap)

Make sure you get all the corners and edges of the foam as well

3. Apply the glue to the back-side of the fabric, working quickly so that the glue does not pool and seep through the fabric.

Let the contact cement dry to the touch, about 5-10 minutes

4. Repeat Steps 2 and 3, so that the foam and the back of the fabric both have 2 layers of contact cement

5. Carefully stick the foam, glue-side down, onto the back of the fabric

You’ll want to start in the middle and work your way out. This will help prevent any air bubbles getting trapped underneath the fabric

6. With your fingers, slowly push the fabric down, starting from the middle, out to the edges of the foam

If air bubbles start to form under the fabric, carefully lift the fabric off the foam and re-place it to get rid of bubbles.

7. Use your flat sided object to push the fabric into the corners of your foam piece to make sure you get crisp corners and edges

8. Pull your fabric so it stretches all the way over the edges

To get a really smooth finish, you want to pull your fabric so it stretches into a really tight fit

9. If you have a large amount of overhang on your fabric, trim away some of the excess, leaving enough allowance to be pulled around to the back of the foam piece

10. Cut small notches along the overhang

This helps the fabric lay smoothly when you pull it around the edges

11. Add 2 layers of contact cement to the back side of your piece, but only along the edge, and allow to dry

12. Stretch and pull the small flaps of fabric around the edges and glue to the back side of the foam piece

Hot glue to can help make these little piece of fabric extra secure, but it is not necessary to add

13. Flip over and enjoy the smooth fabric finish!

This method of finishing foam has many uses and can be done to get a smooth finish on many things like small armor pieces, metallic trims, stiff appliques, and more! Try out this tutorial yourself and make something incredible!