If you have items in your inventory with specific traits that you need later to craft your own armor and weapons, you will need to go to a crafting station to research them.
At the crafting station for that type, there will be a menu that comes up with five options:
- refine
- create
- deconstruct
- improve
- research.
Choose the research option and it will show a menu with each armor piece and each trait you can research. If you have armor in your inventory or bank that matches an item you can research, you choose said trait and then choose the armor piece to research.
NOTE: Armor or weapons used to research are destroyed. Choose wisely.