Hello.
I am making LARP weapons for the first time and I am trying to find some experienced people who can help me with some of the final steps.
I have made my weapons from high density EVA foam and I’ve coated them with plastidip. I have found they do wrinkle if I strike them together, but if I heat them, the wrinkles do go away (so I THINK I’ve done this correctly). However, I am seeing some small chunks come out of the edge of the blade as well.
That said, I have not painted or put on a top coat yet, so I am hoping those steps will resolve issues.
I was planning to paint with acrylic paint and then apply a top coat. I have seen a wide range of suggestions for the top coat, so I am not sure what to use. As of right now, my weapons are tacky and semi-stick together, so I want the coat to stop that as well as add additional protections, as well as allow me to use a heat gun to repair wrinkles (or are there other/additional care I can use?)
What are the best options for a top coat? I read UV spray or silicone spray (lubricant?) - should I use both or just one? Does it matter what kind? I assume something that protects rubber due to the plastidip.
Thank you for your assistance!
Welcome along to the forums, LKinney 
I’ll admit I have no idea on this. I shall ask around and see if I can direct folk your way…
A note of caution though. I would advise against banking on your own weapons passing weapons check at an event, unless you are very certain of their construction.
Not disparaging your efforts (heck, I wouldn’t know where to start with these…), but I’ve seen a lot of friends’ work fail to meet the standard. Have you had a chat with some of the weapons makers/sellers at events or elsewhere?
Can’t be certain without seeing them of course, but it is sounding like maybe not enough coats. However, I’m old-school, and still use latex & brush. My standard layers are:
2 very thin coats of latex (only slightly thicker than water), making sure it works into any imperfections in the foam.
2 coats of latex, with a bit of black paint mixed in.
2 more coats, with a suitable base colour of paint (e.g. brown for wood, grey for metal etc.)
At least 2 more coats of latex with the colours I want on top (definitely more if it is going to have a lot of wear, such as a staff without a grip wrap). Then detailing/shading. Personally, I never use raw acrylics on any area that’s likely to flex, as they tend to crack. I either mix a small amount of latex with the paint, or use something like Flexipaint.
For a top coat, again I go old school with Isoflex Special Primer - this is noxious stuff, but does the job nicely.
Finally, use silicone lubricant/spray to take the stickiness away.
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To be clear: I am making these for a theatre production, but I figure LARPers would be the great people to ask. I plan to make more for myself in the future, but nicer to get to test and learn not on my own budget. 
Don’t seem to have Isoflex Special Primer in my area, unfortunately.
Thank you, Hammerhydra, for confirming it’s the lubricant spray - you would be shocked how many times I’ve asked people this on several forms and not get an answer. This I can get locally. Yey!
Latex looks like it’s rather a pain, so I wanted to avoid working with it. The plastidip was easy to use, though I did forget to put it in warm water to start. Whoops! I know I don’t have enough coats either, but it was already $200 just in plasti dip as I have 26 weapons being made (and one of them is a gaundao, so it’s much larger).
I’ve been really looking into LARPing overall lately as something I may want to actually get into, so this is all part of me learning. Thank you for the replies and help. I do appreciate it!
You may already have been answered enough. Courtesy of Raphael de Jong, here is a guide to LARP weapons making.
Which I shall just leave here for others to find if needed 
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