To make the best cosplay you possibly can, an important piece of the puzzle is having the right materials, tools, and supplies to do the job. That doesn’t necessarily mean you need to spend a lot of money or use the same things everyone else does; it just means that you should try to use what works best for you and for what you’re trying to make. This is especially true when it comes to adhesives and choosing the best glue for your cosplay.
While there are certain materials that some glues will and won’t work with, you usually have more than one option to pick from for any given project. In this post, we’ll explain the basics of each major cosplay adhesive and provide links to our more in-depth adhesive series blog posts.
Contact Cement
Contact cement, also known as Barge, is basically an industrial-strength rubber cement that bonds to surfaces as its toxic solvents dissolve. However, contact cement is safe to use with a respirator mask and/or in a well-ventilated area. Because of its extra strength, contact cement is a popular choice for EVA and craft foams as well as heavy materials like wood or metal.
Click here to learn more about working with contact cement.
Hot Glue
Hot glue is another one of the most popular glues for cosplay because of its quick dry time. Though it’s only a medium strength bond, hot glue sticks are also a cheap adhesive alternative that works well on foam, heavy fabrics, wood, cardboard, and paper.
Click here to find out more about the uses of hot glue.
Fabric Glue
Fabric glue is a craft adhesive designed specifically for use on most fabrics in the place of sewing with needle and thread. Fabric glue can make it easy to attach fabrics and leathers to each other, add small details to fabrics, or to cover other materials like foam or cardboard with fabric.
Click here to read more about the pros and cons of using fabric glue.
Attach & Build Double-Sided Adhesive Sheets
CosBond Attach & Build double-sided adhesive sheets are one of the best catch-all adhesive solutions for cosplayers today. Simply cut, peel, and stick just about any cosplay materials together for an instant bond with no mess, no fumes, and no dry time.
Click here to lean more about the benefits of using CosBond Attach & Build.
Wood Glue
Obviously, wood glue is a great option for attaching wooden pieces for props or cosplay because it’s designed to grip the grain of the wood. However, wood glue has some other handy uses in cosplay, like sealing foam and priming Worbla.
Click here for the pros and cons of using wood glue in your builds.
White Glue
White glue is an all-purpose adhesive that works with a range of cosplay materials, especially when it comes to small details or embellishments. White glue can also be used as a sealant and a primer for foams and thermoplastics as well.
Click here to learn more about the uses for white glue in cosplay.
Super Glue
Super glue (cyanoacrylates like Gorilla Glue) is a versatile glue that works well on EVA, plastics, and more. Because of its thin consistency, super glue can be great for filling or pressing together gaps in your materials.
Click here to read about all the different uses for super glue in cosplay.
Spray Adhesive
Spray adhesive (the kind that comes in an aerosol can) is a glue that can cover a lot of surface area very quickly and works well with materials like EVA, insulation foam, and some fabrics.
Click here to find out the pros and cons of building cosplay with spray adhesive.
2-Part Epoxy Glue
2-part epoxy glues have an incredibly quick cure time, meaning that they create strong bonds between materials like 3D print filament, metals, plastics, fiberglass, foam, and more very quickly.
Click here to learn more about the different uses for 2-part epoxies in cosplay.
Mod Podge
Mod Podge is an old-school adhesive that can be used in a variety of ways for cosplay, including adhering foam or paper as well as sealing and finishing your cosplay pieces.
Click here to read more about the uses for Mod Podge in cosplay.
Plasti Dip
Plasti Dip is a spray painting product that works great as a foam sealant because of its flexible nature. It can be used on foams, cardboard, plastics, and more. It comes in aerosol form and can be painted over with spray paint or acrylics.
Click here to learn about the pros and cons of sealing your pieces with Plasti Dip.
E-6000
E-6000 is an industrial-strength adhesive that is incredibly durable and can be used across the spectrum of cosplay materials, from small to large applications as well. Like contact cement, you’ll need to wear a mask when working with E-6000.
Click here to learn more about the best uses for E-6000 in cosplay.