EVA foam is pretty versatile in terms of what tools and materials you can use on it. However you do want to be cautious in selecting things like primers, sealants and especially paints. Otherwise you could risk ruining the foam or having the materials not stick. Thankfully though there is a wide variety of options to choose from so you aren’t overly limited. Let’s dive deeper into the question of what kind of paint do you use on EVA foam.
Types of Paint for EVA Foam
Acrylic Paints
Acrylic paints are always safe for EVA foam. They provide a wide variety of colors and are perfect for those who want to paint by hand. This option can be considered highly affordable since you just need to make a one time purchase of quality brushes and the paints themselves are rarely expensive. Brands like Decoart and Folkart often have paints that start around $2.00, making them the best priced paints that still provide quality. If you want to go a little above that, Liquitex also creates high quality paint for a slightly higher price.
Acrylic paints hold really well on EVA foam to give you the perfect pigment as long as you use a primer before applying your paint. With a thinner, you can also use acrylic paints in an airbrush as well to make them more versatile to your needs.
Oil Paints
Oil paints are safe to use on EVA foam, however you won’t use them as your base color like acrylic paints. These are better for doing a washing technique on your foam. What this means, is after you apply your base paint and let it dry, you can apply some oil paint and wipe it off. You can wipe it off after a few seconds or longer depending on how dark you want the color to be. But this is great for weathering or to make EVA foam look like bones.
Airbrush Paint
Most airbrush paints are safe to use on EVA foam. If you are looking for specific options, Model Air and Createx are both good brands to shop from. They are safe for foam and come in a great assortment of colors. Airbrush paint is a lot faster to apply than painting by hand and also will ensure there is no visible brush strokes. However getting a compressor for airbrushing can be a bit pricier than paint brushes.
Can You Use Spray Paint on EVA Foam
This is one of those yes and no answers. Typically spray paint will ruin your EVA foam. However, water based are safe to use. Examples of water based spray paint includes Liquitex and MTN Water Based. Both are very high quality and can help give you the best of both worlds of airbrush and hand painting. You can skip buying expensive equipment while still getting the speed and quality an airbrush normally gives you. However spray paints are often a bit pricier than acrylic paints.
AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE: there may be a few links in this post that are affiliate links. Clicking these links or making purchases through these links can help support myself and this blog.