FullDip Liquid Vinyl: Complete Guide to Colors and Finishes

FullDip Liquid Vinyl is the most widely used flexible acrylic vinyl sealer in cosplay for protecting and colouring EVA foam, Worbla, and any porous surface. In this article you'll find the real differences between the six colour ranges — Solids, Military, Metallics, Chameleon, Candy, and Gloss & Specials — when to use the 1K Acrylic Primer as a base, and how to apply the product step by step to achieve professional-level results.

What FullDip Liquid Vinyl is and how it works

FullDip Liquid Vinyl is an acrylic vinyl coating in aqueous dispersion that, once dry, forms a continuous elastic membrane capable of stretching more than 200% without breaking. This property makes it the ideal sealer for EVA foam, which needs a finish that bends and compresses along with the piece without cracking.

The chemistry is straightforward: the product contains vinyl copolymers with encapsulated pigments dispersed in water. As the solvent evaporates, the polymer particles coalesce and form a continuous film of between 0.1 and 0.3 mm per coat. At 20–22 °C, the surface dries to the touch in 20–45 minutes, and full cure with maximum mechanical resistance is reached after 24 hours.

At Feroca we've been distributing FullDip for years, and the question we get most from makers just starting out is whether they can apply it directly onto EVA foam without a primer. The answer is yes: a first coat diluted 10–15% with water penetrates the pores and acts as an anchor layer. That said, if you use FullDip 1K Acrylic Primer as a base, the sealing is more uniform and you reduce overall vinyl consumption by 25–30%.

Being water-based, clean-up while the product is still fresh is done with soap and water, and it doesn't emit volatile organic solvents: you can work indoors without industrial ventilation. Once cured, the film resists water, moderate abrasion, and temperatures up to 60 °C without visible deformation, making it viable for armour worn under convention spotlights.

The 6 FullDip ranges: which one to choose based on the finish

FullDip Liquid Vinyl is divided into six lines, each formulated with specific pigments and agents to produce a different visual effect. Knowing the differences saves you from buying the wrong product and having to redo the work from scratch.

A practical note we always repeat in the workshop: the Chameleon and Candy ranges always require a specific base for the effect to work correctly. Without that base, the chameleon effect looks dull and the candy loses all its depth. I explain this in detail in the relevant sections.

Solid Colours Military Metallics Chameleon Candy Gloss & Specials 1K Primer

Solid Colours and Military: solid bases and tactical finishes

FullDip Solid Colours are the entry-level range and the most versatile: they provide uniform coverage in 2–3 coats and work both as a final matte-satin finish and as a base to receive layers of other ranges on top.

The palette includes more than 30 colours, from the basics (black, white, red, blue, green) to intermediate shades such as olive green, earth brown, and steel grey. For cosplay, the most in-demand are matte black — a universal base for dark armour and for the Chameleon range — and white for pieces that will be painted with light colours on top. The dry finish is slightly satin; if you want a more matte result, apply the final coat at a 20% water dilution.

• Opacity: completely covers the colour of the EVA foam in 2 coats on a prepared surface.
• As a base for Chameleon: solid black is the essential base before any iridescent range.
• As a base for Candy: solid silver or gold acts as a mirror and amplifies the saturation of the candy finish.
• Estimated consumption: 250–300 ml for a full chest armour piece with 3 coats.

FullDip Military shares the same base formulation as the Solid Colours but with a palette designed for tactical and dark fantasy finishes: ranger green, sand khaki, mud brown, cement grey, charcoal black. The key feature of this range is the micro-grained texture of the dry finish, which eliminates residual shine and gives a rough tactile feel that is very convincing for pieces that need to look like aged metal or tanned leather.

Camouflage technique with Military:

1. Dark base: apply 2 coats of Military ranger green or sand khaki as the overall background for the piece.
2. Camouflage patches: using a sponge or wide brush, add irregular patches of mud brown and charcoal black without completely covering the base.
3. Blending: while the patches are still fresh (5–10 min), blend the edges with a dry brush to avoid hard transitions between colours.
4. Weathering: once dry, gently rub with a sponge loaded with a touch of black on the edges and raised details to simulate real wear.

Metallics and Chameleon: effects that change with the light

FullDip Metallics are the most in-demand range for armour and accessories that need to look like they're made of real metal. The formula incorporates very fine aluminium particles and metallic pigments that, once trapped in the vinyl membrane, reflect light directionally and create the characteristic metallic lustre.

Available colours: gold, silver, bronze, copper, gun metal, rose gold, and metallic black. At conventions with spotlight lighting, gun metal and silver deliver the most spectacular results because they maximise light dispersion. Bronze and copper are the favourites for steampunk-aesthetic fantasy armour.

FullDip Chameleon is by far the most eye-catching range, but also the one that requires the most technique. It works thanks to interference pigments — borosilicate crystals coated with titanium dioxide — that shift colour depending on the viewing angle and light source. The effect is only possible on a very dark base, ideally deep black: on white or light colours the effect is completely nullified.

For Chameleon, always apply a minimum of 3–4 thin coats, not 2 thick ones. Thin layers allow the interference pigments to settle in a uniform orientation, which maximises the colour shift. With 2 thick coats the pigments become misaligned and the effect looks muddy.

Candy and Gloss & Specials: transparencies and shimmer

FullDip Candy are translucent coatings with highly saturated transparent pigments that create the characteristic candy effect: a visual depth in which the colour seems to glow from within. They are the go-to choice for replicating gems, crystals, and magical elements in cosplay.

Available Candy colours: red, blue, green, purple, gold, orange, and hazelnut brown. The most widely used in fantasy cosplay are sapphire blue and emerald green over a silver base, and ruby red over a gold base. With 3–4 coats over a metallic, you achieve a colour depth that no opaque paint can match.

Candy — Hazelnut Brown Translucent over metallic base Chameleon Ice Shifts from blue to green depending on the angle Vinyl Gloss High gloss as a final sealing coat

FullDip Gloss & Specials groups finishes that don't fit into any of the other five ranges: high gloss (equivalent to the finish of a lacquered mirror), pearlescents with micro-nacre particles, glitters in different sizes, and texture effects. They are the final resource for adding a differentiating element to a finished piece of armour, or for applying as a sealing topcoat over any other range to boost the gloss level.

FullDip 1K Acrylic Primer: the base that makes all the difference

FullDip 1K Acrylic Primer is a single-component acrylic primer specifically formulated to prepare porous surfaces before applying liquid vinyl. It is not a coloured vinyl: it is a preparation layer that fills micro-pores, unifies surface absorption, and improves the adhesion of subsequent coats.

Three situations where the primer is essential:

• Standard stationery or budget-store EVA foam: these foams have greater porosity and a more irregular surface than professional EVA foam. Without primer, the first vinyl coat is absorbed unevenly and the finish looks mottled.
• Before Chameleon or Candy: the primer seals the pores before the dark or metallic base, and this amplifies the final visual effect by 15–20%.
• Pieces with engraved texture or fine details: the primer has a lower viscosity than the vinyl, so it better preserves the sharpness of raised details without filling them in.

Application: 1–2 thin coats with a brush or spray gun with a 1.0–1.2 mm nozzle. Allow to dry for 30 minutes at 20 °C between coats. The primer dries to a uniform greyish-white; the first coloured vinyl coat will cover it completely. Estimated consumption: 1 bottle of 250 ml for a full-body armour piece with 2 coats.

How to apply FullDip Liquid Vinyl step by step

The correct application of FullDip on EVA foam follows the same protocol regardless of the range. The most common mistakes — bubbles, premature peeling, uneven finish — almost always happen because one of these steps has been skipped.

1. Clean and sand the piece: remove any adhesive residue, dust, and grease. Sand the entire surface with 220–320 grit paper to improve mechanical adhesion. Wipe with a dry, lint-free cloth.
2. Apply the primer (recommended): 1–2 thin coats of 1K Acrylic Primer. Wait 30 minutes between coats.
3. First diluted vinyl coat: dilute the vinyl 10–15% with water. This coat penetrates the pores and acts as an anchor layer. Dries to the touch in 20–30 minutes.
4. Second and third coats undiluted: apply straight from the bottle or with a minimal 5% dilution. Allow to dry completely between coats (30–45 min at 22 °C). Always apply thin coats: 3 thin coats are better than 2 thick ones.
5. Special ranges (Chameleon/Candy): base first: before the special range, apply 2 full coats of the corresponding base — black for Chameleon, metallic for Candy — and allow to cure for 2 hours.
6. Final cure: although the vinyl is touch-resistant within 45 minutes, maximum mechanical resistance is reached after 24 hours. Do not handle the pieces with force until then.

Frequently asked questions

Materials at Feroca

The full FullDip Liquid Vinyl range is available at Feroca: Solid Colours, Military, Metallics, Chameleon, Candy, Gloss & Specials, and the 1K Acrylic Primer. If you're just starting out with EVA foam cosplay, also check out our EVA foam for cosplay guide and the article on cosplay materials.