How do I glue this?

A guide on glues - What glue to use and how to use them!

Gluing material overview

What glue does what?

Check out each type of glue in more detail

Contact Cement

Contact Cement or Contact adhesive is a flexible adhesive that is perfect for many cosplay applications. It creates a strong, permanent and instant bond between the materials making it perfect for crafting your cosplay creations. Unlike hot glue, you don't need to hold joins together while the glue cools with Contact Cement!

What materials does it glue: EVA foam, Pleather, Leather, Felt, Fabric (it may soak in and cause staining) and more!

Instructions for use:

1. Apply glue thinly to both sides of the surfaces you wish to bond.
2. Wait until glue becomes touch dry and tacky and appears matte.
3. Press surfaces together firmly to achieve an instant bond.
TIP: Align your pieces carefully as bond is not re-positionable. 

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Spray Adhesive (Spray Contact Adhesive)

Spray adhesive is a flexible contact adhesive. It creates a light to medium, instant bond between the materials making it perfect laminating large surfaces and gluing fabric and vinyl to foam. This glue isn't as strong as contact adhesive, here for more forgiving than contact cement if you need to re-position something. This glue is not suitable for butt-joining EVA Foam or forming curves with EVA foam.

What materials does it glue: EVA Foam, leather, pleather, fabric (it may soak in and cause staining), felt, cardboard, paper and more.

Instructions for use:

1. Spray a layer to one side of the material you wish to glue for a light bond, or both sides for a stronger bond.
2. Wait until glue becomes touch dry and tacky and appears matte.
3. Press surfaces together firmly to achieve an instant bond.
TIP: Align your pieces carefully as possible. Bond may not re-positionable. 

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CA Glue (Super Glue)

CYANOACRYLATES or CA Glue (AKA Super glue) is a family of thin water-like consistency glues that work on a wide range of materials. It's thin consistency allows it to penetrate materials to create a very strong bond which can be achieved in 1 to 5 seconds! However we do not recommend CA glue for gluing EVA foam, leather or pleather as it can be brittle once cured. CA glue especially Zap-A-Gap and the Zap Thin are fantastic for 3D prints.

What materials does it glue: Aluminium, China & pottery, Fiberglass, Metal, most plastics, rubber, wood and fabric (it will soak in and cause staining)

Instructions for use:

1. Apply small amount of glue to one of the surfaces you want to bond.
2. Press the other side on and wait for glue to cure!
3. OPTIONAL: Apply kicker to make the glue cure faster!
TIP: Align your pieces carefully as bond is not re-positionable once cured.

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Flexbond

Flexbond is a water based, clear and flexible adhesive similar to PVA. Traditionally it's used to bonding large areas of fabric, plastics, foams and wood for scenic applications but for cosplay, we use Flexbond mostly as a primer for EVA foam! Flexbond gives EVA foam a nice smooth surface and it fills in any surface pores and imperfections. Flexbond also has a very slight tack which is great for adhering your paint job on to. Flexbond remains extremely pliable and strong even as the materials bend and deform. FlexBond is water- based with little fumes. This adhesive is NOT ideal for gluing EVA foam, only priming it.

What materials does it glue: Plastics, foams, wood and fabric (it will soak in and cause staining)

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Fabric Glue

Fabric glue is a washable, flexible glue that usually dries clear. Perfect for attaching trims, straps, embellishments and even small foam pieces to your cosplay. Fabric glue is often used to glue wig wefts to a base wig and sometimes even watered down to hold the fibres on heavily styled wigs.

What materials does it glue: Vinyl, Fabric (it may soak in and cause staining) and more

Instructions for use:

Check packaging for the product you are using!

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Rhinestone Adhesive

Rhinestone adhesives is a washable, flexible glue that usually dries clear. Used for gluing rhinestones, trims and other embellishments to your cosplay. Can be used to apply glitter to fabric too!

What materials does it glue: Rhinestones, trims, glitter, vinyl, fabric (it may soak in and cause staining) and more.

Instructions for use:

Check packaging for the product you are using!

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Hot Glue

Hot glue is a flexible, translucent glue that is heated up in a hot glue gun and applied between the two surfaces you wish to glue and allowed to cool. Hot glue, unlike the other glues on this list will bond to basically anything except some plastics, and it has a lot of body making it perfect for gluing uneven surfaces or two materials different materials that do not have a glue that work for them both.

The down side of hot glue is that it can melt the material and also can cause burns on skin if you get it on your skin straight out of the gun. Hot glue is perfect for also filling/gluing, such as gluing an alignment pin into a hole. It can also be used as a cheap flexible "casting" medium as well as for dispersing LED's lights. We do not recommend hot glue for gluing EVA foam to itself unless contact cement is not an option.

Instructions for use:

Check with your specific Hot Glue Gun and Hot Glue sticks for instructions.

E6000

E6000 is a clear, ultra flexible glue that dries permanent and waterproof. For cosplay, this glue is most often used to glue rhinestones or materials that do not adhere with more popular glues as E6000 works on almost everything.

What materials does it glue: Almost anything, however we do not recommend it for EVA foam if Contact Cement is an option.

Wood Glue (PVA)

PVA is a clear water based adhesive. Traditionally it's bonding wood. This adhesive is NOT ideal for gluing EVA foam, only used for priming NON-FLEXIBLE items such as Worbla armour and props.

What materials does it glue: Wood

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