Advice for painting duct tape

I’ve read many tutorials and I was all set to start my first project using foam and styrene. Then it occurred to me that my time frame is short and I’m broke, and I’ve never tried using either of these products before.

So I was wondering if anyone has been able to make realistic plate armor using foam/cardboard and duct tape. The duct tape would obviously need to be painted in the metallic colors of the costume. Has anyone had luck with painting over duct tape? I was thinking of using a primer and then a metallic based spray paint, and then using hot glue and acrylic paint for the details.

I guess I am just curious about whether anyone has tried this and had good results. I’m willing to experiment with the paint to get the coloring and texture right.

Thanks!

NO. Total waste of good duct tape and your time. Duct tape is designed to be moisture resistant, which means painting it will look like crap and peel off. this also retains all the lines & texture of the tape, which you do not want.

Use the duct tape to make a body double of yourself, then you have a model to work on 😉 (google duct tape dress form or duct tape dummies)

Paper mache can be made from scratch at home, google recipe tutorials and you will find dozens.

Mostly you need: paper (newspaper our of the recycling bin is free),

water, (you paid your bill right?)

a big bucket for pre-soaking paper (although you could use a bathtub, I don’t recommend it, too easy to clog up the drain),

glue, (dollar store)

a smaller bucket or a big bowl for the actual glue/water/paper mixture

a place to work (outside is better, a hard floored space if you must work indoors)

Being on a tiny budget is no excuse for sloppy work, if anything when I’m broke I’ve got lots of time to do stuff. Take advantage of the situation and go with the slow/ free methods.