Completed pepakura armour palms for ironman suit

There are many pepakura strengthening methods but I found following method to make your card models as hard as fibre glass, plus it is cheaper and not toxic! Also its easier than the Hot glue method as you don’t create the bad smells! You can do it inside and you don’t need face masks and mess with the dangerous plastic chemicals.

For pepakura strengthening you will need

• Cornflour – Easy to get in all supermarkets, it very cheap and you shouldn’t need huge amounts
• PVA Glue – I would go for the outdoor waterproof type as it is generally stronger
• Water – as long as its clean it should do the job
• Brush – Smallish and old (its going to get knackered)
• Tub – Plastic is best I use an old margarine tub (give it a wash first)
• Warmth – Near a fireplace as its a good place to dry, not too hot as you don’t want to start a fire
• Surface Tissue – Optional to strengthen the model (bare in mind it is fibre glass, so when you cut it get a hoover to pick up the waste, unless you want glass shards in your foot)

I don’t have measured amounts for any of this method, as it depends on the types of PVA glue you use moisture in the air and heat of the room also change the measures greatly.

1. Coat your Pepakura model with a thin layer of PVA glue and put aside to dry a little.
2. Pour some PVA glue into the old tub roughly guess how much you are covering, don’t do too much or you will waste materials.
3. Add a little water to PVA just so it goes a little runny people say it should look like cream, just do not put lots of water so it thins it out! Use the old brush to mix it together.
4. Now slowly add the Corn Flour you don’t need a huge amount, put in less than you think, then use the brush to stir it in. I will thicken up quickly, you don’t want it thick for a first coat unless your trying to bulk out the surface. I suggest you need it like the consistency of the PVA glue before you added water. If its still runny add a little more Corn Flour, the best test it to make sure it doesn’t drip from your brush.
5. Take your slighly tacky PVA coated Pepakura Model and paint the Corn Flour PVA glue mix thinly on the surface, just do one section of the model (depending on its size) as you don’t want the card to soggy and go out of shape. Once you have done a section leave it dry.
6. Once the model is dry move onto another section, and add coat that area, then leave it to dry. repeat this until you have covered the model. Once dry it should be quite hard and keep its shape. If it is still flimsy you can use something like Surface tissue on the inside of the model to strengthen it. Be careful with the surface tissue material as it is glass fibres. I cut it into small squares and store it in a bag, then use the Corn Flour PVA glue mix and lay a square inside the model and paint another layer onto of them. Again leave them to dry.
7. After several coats and drying it should be tough enough to sand smooth or carve.
8. Pepakura strengthening success! You should now have a tough reusable model!