Covering My Plastic

[Ewen MacSuibhne]

I got some ABS and cut and shaped it and now I am preparing to affix it to my metal knees, and I want to cover it in leather so it looks nice. I have more 6 oz leather than I know what to do with, but it doesn't like folding over the edges to make a nice clean edge.

I was thinking of using liquid nails to glue it into place, then using a drill to punch holes through both the plastic and the leather to make holes for stitching right along the edge. The liquid nails seems to prevent it from sliding, but not from tearing off, so the stitching would hold down edges, and the liquid nails would keep it from moving any way else. The trouble is I wonder how much a series of holes would weaken the edges of the plastic.

Am I doing this the hard way, or is there something that makes more sense that I should try?

[Konstantin the Red]

Make the stitches pretty large and the stitch holes small, like a 3/8" stitch length and a teensy little Dremel-tool drill bit. Set the stitch holes well in from the edge for further strength.

If six-ounce is all you can get, skive the edges down real good, reducing its thickness by half if not more. You can also manage a crisper fold-over using an adjustable V gouge to take some leather out of right where you need it gone to make the fold.

[Baron Alcyoneus]

Liquid Nail? NO!!! I'd expect that to be brittle.

Contact cement, yes. It is easy to apply, and easy to remove. It also works well applying cloth or leather to metal.

[Dwarlock]

3-m super weatherstrip adhesive, sometimes also called gorilla snot.

very good adhesion, stays flexible, sticks to anything, and I've personaly used it on leather prior to stitching scores of times.

[GuntherofOrkney]

i have made a bunch of plastic armor covered in leather. I used contact cement to glue the leather on and when overlapped it over the edge by at least an inch then glued it down with the contact cement. if its at least an inch on the inside it will take alot of abuse before peeling up. as for angles,you wanna cut reliefs in the leather,just enough past the edge so it no longer noticeable from the front. when putting holes in plastic you wanna put them more then an inch from any edge or other hole or it will crack at that point.

[carlyle]

...when putting holes in plastic you wanna put them more then an inch from any edge or other hole or it will crack at that point.

While I mostly agree with Gunther and the other posters, 1" sounds like a large margin. As long as the edge is not what is being hit with regularity (assuming from the OP we are talking about cuisses), holes as close as 1/4" or 3/8" will work. Of course, plastic thickness is a factor here; the thinner the plastic, the more margin you are going to want. For reference, my cuisses are uncovered 1/4" HDPE, but I have a wrapper attached along the back edge with a simple, stitched-on leather hinge. I believe those holes are around 3/8" from the edge (legs are currently on loan, so I can't say with certainty). I've been using these legs since the late 80's.

Hope this helps... AoC

PS -- I also use brushed-on contact cement. As noted, it doesn't really bond to the plastic, but it will keep things from moving around for a long time. A more costly solution but one that is much easier to apply and manage is spray mount. These come in both "removable" and "permanent" adhesive formulations... AoC

[GuntherofOrkney]

i have only ever used ABS plastic. any holes close to where you get hit alot need to be far from eachother but then if your not getting hit in certain spots why armor it hehe. I use contact cement because on formed peice use can apply it wet and slide the leather around,muscled breastplates need it but a good solid bonding glue for the edges is a good idea.

[carlyle]

i have only ever used ABS plastic.

I've used both, but I'm partial to HDPE. I think it's more forgiving to work with, inexpensive, and tough. ABS can get brittle in a way I've never seen with PE.

... any holes close to where you get hit alot need to be far from eachother but then if your not getting hit in certain spots why armor it hehe.

Yeah, sorry for being obtuse. I was thinking about getting hit more on the edge than in the middle of the plate. If you are likely to get hit close to edge a lot, then a greater margin might be necessary.

I use contact cement because on formed peice use can apply it wet and slide the leather around...

I'm a traditionalist; I brush the glue onto both sides and let it dry to slightly tacky, then stick them together. Needless to say, I don't get to slide anything around ... AoC

[Ewen MacSuibhne]

I will try using contact cement, I was almost out of liquid nails anyway. Thanks for the info, all!

[Takeyama]

Here is a post all about covering your not-so-period armor

http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB2/ ... ht=thyself