Makign this easy to clean

[Misomie]

I have a Lucario fursuit I bought two years ago (he was already a few years old at the time and in need of repairs).

He needs a good cleaning but this is really difficult because of his shape. Anyways, I'm cutting the suit apart to make it fit me. (I'm working on the torso now and it looks great after a good wash)

Anyways, I want to alter it so it's easier to clean. Here's a few pics:
http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2...e_summer_2012_by_latinomaninblack-d5epemi.jpg
http://th08.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/i/2012/160/0/3/pokemon_lucario_by_universalladyn-d52x6k8.jpg
http://th00.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2012/148/c/5/lucario_by_espada_12-d51h1op.jpg

With the new head and some needed cleaning:
http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2013/150/3/c/marshal_and_lucario_by_universalladyn-d6775bm.jpg
http://th09.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2013/150/6/0/marshal_and_lucario_by_universalladyn-d67747f.jpg

Anyways, there is tons of padding in his thighs. What should I do to make it easier to clean? (I was thinking of making the fur detachable from the foam so I can toss it in the washer) So maybe a zipper down the side of the costume?

I'm also going to re-pad and fur the legs.
I got rid of those old bleh feet because I'm going to make sock paws to fit his design better.
The torso is going to become skin-tight.
The black belt is going to shorten up as well.
Arms are going to be thinned (padding has already been removed).
Paws are going to be re-made and much smaller.
Tail is going to be removed and gutted to add support (and something to make it stay in place, along with a zipper to remove stuffing if needed).
I furred the head at a con so it needs a few repairs, I'll get stuff for it this weekend.

Any other ideas on how to make it easier to maintain? Mainly the foam in the legs.

Edit: Ignore typo in name. XP

 

[Eggdodger]

Geez, that long list of stuff to do sounds like you're reverse-engineering it, not altering it.

(That fursuit is adorable, by the way.)

How much padding, exactly, is in the legs? Looks rather bulky.

 

[Misomie]

I kinda am reverse engineering it, lol. Just has a lot of stuff I want altered. XD There is tons of padding. There used to be lots of arm padding and chest padding but that's been removed. I don't know exactly but the thigh padding is enough for me not to be able to wrap my arms around it and the costume all-in-all weighs ~20 lbs. I want to make it removable so I can clean the foam and fur separately. Hm.

 

[Eggdodger]

I'd be careful-- if you remove all the padding, it won't resemble Lucario much anymore, eh? =p

Giving yourself the option to remove the padding would make it easier to clean though. On this, I agree. Any idea how you're going to do that?

 

[Misomie]

I'm keeping the lower padding. The upper padding is un-needed and actually goes against his design (Plus not being able to use my hands sucked, I want some props in the future so having useful hands will help). I was thinking a long zipper down his side. That way I can easily access the padding. It's already glued to some underarmour so It'd be pretty easy to take out separately with the large opening. However I was also toying with gluing the foam to shorts and adding suspenders (because sometimes the thighs sag). Plus the suspender method would protect the fur from taking any weight.