Plastidip Shield Tutorial

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How to make a Plastidip Shield with both a

Recessed Center Grip and Strapping

Options.-By Sir Celdic Fitz Caliston

First off make a plan, draw a design, get an idea down on paper for what you want your shield to

look like when you are done. Read this tutorial a few times so you understand what is happening

and when, understand what you need to do so that you dont spend a lot of time and frustration.

Next get materials.

1- 30 inch 2.4lb polyethylene plank foam (shield blank)

2- 30 inch round 2lb MC EVA foam 1/2 inch thick2- 30 inch round 2lb MC white foam (didn't have it handy when I took this picture)

DAP Weldwood contact Cement1-can Black Spray-On Plastidip1-Cans of Black Dip/Paint on Plastidip

Leather strapping or a leather Belt

Center Rod/Slat for your Recessesed Center GripStrapping Tape, Duct Tape, Masking Tape

Plastic grocery bags

Acrylic paints. Fine Grit Sand Paper


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heater and my marble tooling slab on top for extra weight. Should be flat enough to use

tomorrow morning.

Traced out a 30 inch circle on a large sheet of paper, I used the back of gift-wrapping paper. (I

get the kind with 1 inch squares, it helps keep designs symmetrical.)


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Next I did a freehand transfer of the design onto the MC skin that will be the design/embossed

work.

Using my Scroll Saw I then cut out the areas that need to be completely removed from thedesign. If you dont have a scroll saw a Razorblade/knife will work. Just try to be as precise as

possible (stock up on razor blades if your cutting a lot of MC foam.


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Making the Recessed Center Grip:Now I need to start putting in the center grip and Strapping onto the make Blank Core.This is a fiberglass slat used in road signs as supports. I've cut it to length and notched the center

where it will be held sot that the handle isn't to wide to grip after the following steps.


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Use duct tape to build up the dimension of the handle to the desired thickness.


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Spiral wrap the handle in hockey-grip-tape in preparation for adhering the leather wrapping (it

bonds better then the smooth side of duct tape.

I also beveled the upper corners of the fiberglass slat so they don't dig into your hand.

For this step I use Supper 77 on the grip tape and the rough/"wrong" side of the leather wrap.


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Spray the rough/"wrong" side of the leather and the grip tape area of the handle with the Super

77, follow directions on the can. I cut the leather wrap so that it is longer then the actual handle

then anchor the top (as seen here) and the bottom with Grip tape (next pic) so that it doesn't peelaway from a corner.


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Leather Straps for the custom Strapping.

Beveled then burnished the edges of the straps to keep them comfortable.


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Dyeing the straps black.


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While the straps are Drying/curing, I trace out a back cap out of 1/4 inch Micro-Cell foam.

We will need to DAP this cap to the back/inside of the shield so that the straps can be lacedthrough it and anchored on the front side of the shield core (the original shield blank).

Use DAP Weldwood Contact Cement for all foam piece cementing. Plastidip will react to the

other adhesives and your pieces with delaminate.

DAP, DAP, DAP away. Get both the Cap piece and the inside face of the shield blank, let cureper the DAP instructions (that'll take, 25-30 min depending on temp. (make sure you have

adequate DAP on all the edges!!!)


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Back to the straps. Using the old Slave Labor here (the Tippman Boss) to add the strength

stitching to the belt straps (not just decorative, it makes the belt/strap stronger according to the

belt makers.

Custom Strapping ready to go, just waiting for the DAP to dry.


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Joining the core plank and the inside cap pieces. You'll notice there is extra white foam at the

edges, I do that on purpose. I DAP over the lines onto the excess in case I don't get the core lined

up just perfectly, (as can be seen here) and then I trim off the excess flush with the core plank.

Trimmed off the excess with the bandsaw.

Cut out the handhold for the center grip (this is the side we want to grip from).


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Getting placement from the Straps, Dawken and I have very similar arm measurements so

hopefully these placements work. This is the scariest thing about this project, once these are

placed there is not do-overs. I had to go just a touch lower then I personally would pu them justto make sure the structure would be able to support the straps, otherwise they'd have been to

close to the centergrip hole.


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Adjustable strap because most peple wear armor sometimes and will need the strap to go over

their bracer or they lend their shield to someone else that has different size forearms as they do.


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Before weaving the hand strap punch 4 holes in each end in a box pattern.

Weave each side of the wrist strap through the respective slots you cut, your going to attach themtogether on the other side of the shield.

Figure out how much room you'll need to fit your hand in it. If you wear gloves or gauntlets you

might want to give yourself extra room. (I gave a little room because Ive seen pictures of

Dawken with MMA gloves)


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Trim off the excess Zip Tie.

Rotate the strap through the shield until the zip ties heads are inside the core plank.


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Next using Strap tape make a box pattern around each end of the strap, this will add extrasupport to help keep the leather strap from pulling through the core foam.


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I add a couple pieces of Duct tape under the straps as well for added support.


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Synch the straps tight from the back side so they are as flush on the front as possible then anchor

them down with duct tape. This will keep the straps from rotating during use. This will help

prolong the life of the core foam.

I then traced out a 28 inch Cap of foam out of 1/4 inch MC for the front. Then I use my Dye

brush to dab on some wet dye over the top of the straps. I'll set the 2 pieces together and this will

make a "Stamp" impression on the inside layer of the MC cap pieces to show me where the

straps will line up when they are joined together.


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I used the Dremel sanding tool to router out the strap spots.

DAP both pieces and letting them dry for joining. (btw I wiped off as much of the Dye from the

straps as possible before applying the DAP.)


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Join the front cap with the face of the core, make sure to line up the slots with the straps. Press

firmly and if possible press flat with weights overnight to ensure a good bonding.


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I'm thinking I'm going to have to add another 1/2inch layer of MC to the face. Normally the

positioning of the heraldry gives the Hand hole covering enough support, especially on

Amtshields, however with this going to a Bel fighter I'm going to want to make sure there isenough padding there.


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Added an extra 1/2 inch thick cap of MC foam to the front to make sure the center grip had

enough padding in front of it.

Lining up the center line on the front face of the shield to line up with the handle for the centergrip (this keeps the heraldry oriented properly, I've screwed this up before so I take extra care

now).


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I lay the Symbol layer down and traced it in preparation for DAPPing it to the face. This way I

can lay the symbol down properly when the DAP is ready for joining.

Symbol layer joined to the front face of the shield.


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Cut out strips of 2lb MC 4.25 inches wide to edge the shield. This will make for a friendly

rimming latter on. The sheets of MC are not long enough to get a strip that will go around the

entire edge in 1 piece so I have to use 2.

First Edge piece applied (DAPPed).


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A little more sculpting on the shield edge this time.


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Masking off the Leather straps in preparation for Plasti-dipping. Again, use plastic bags or

newspaper as the first layer against the leather straps and then tape to hold the protective layer in

place.

Do any last minute prep or changes/additions to the shield that you feel necessary. For instance,

Dawken asked me to incorporate this skill into the hollow of the tail.


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the thicker it seems to go on)

Make sure to coat the inside seams of the design where they join the under layer.

PD may look like it has streaks and blobs, smooth them out as best you can but also realize that it

will smooth a lot on it's own as it dries.

The 1 inch brushes are the most convenient for the 2 inch opening on the PD can.

Mix the can really well before you start. The can has a thinning agent that will float to the top.Mix that into the can really well. Once opened you want to use it as fast as you can (so have your

project ready to go). It comes with a plastic cap for the can. Close the lid up between coats so it

doesn't dry and get a skin on the top, adding a layer of plastic food wrapping to the top of thecan and then the plastic lid helps keep the PD fresh between long breaks in applications.


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Once the final coat of PD has tried and set up for a good 24hrs I take some very fine sandpaper

and buff the entire surface to prep it for painting.

Painting:

I like to airbrush the main color with Creatix Airbrush colors.


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You can use Folk Art Acrylic paints, laytex paints, etc to brush on however youd like. Doing the

main base coat of the heraldry with the airbrush just makes it easier and faster for me.

In the following steps I start with the Bronze airbrush paint from Createx, then use various

shades of brown, black, gold, sivle, and greens to get the Bronze to have that Rustic aged look:


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Clear Coating the Entire surface with Krylon Clear coat spray paint for plastics. There are a few

different clear coat options available. Check the PD forums for suggestions on which will be best

for your application.


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Plastidip Shield Tutorial

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