"Help!" for: Fiberglassing, Resin, & Bondo

23Magnum · Aug 20, 2010

This thread will contain general first hand knowledge of fiberglassing, resin, and bondo. Safety with these items is very important so you may be told numerous times to include the proper safety equipment when dealing these potentially harmful products.

People who don't know: Post questions.

People who know: Answer those questions.

Please be as clear and detailed as possible with your questions and/or answers. Repeated questions or variations of certain questions may be consolidated over time into an FAQ section in the post following this one.

Always ask and answer questions as if you were asking/answering your mother or grandmother. In other words, politely.

Rudeness and/or impatience will be met with an infraction. You don't want too many of those.

These threads are meant to reduce and hopefully eliminated the need for the numerous 'I need help threads' that seem to generate endlessly in this section of the forum.

They are not a be all, end all to all questions that could ever be asked though. Some questions will be project specific and you may need to ask those IN the project's thread itself. However, some may not see your questions there so you may post a link to said project thread in the appropriate "Help!" thread when you need the attention of a few extra eyes.

23Magnum · Aug 20, 2010

FAQ Section:

23Magnum · Aug 20, 2010

Tutorials that involve this thread's subject matter and are approved by the site staff will be linked in this post. Please review them as they may already contain the answers you seek.

Tutorial Section:

Lord Tofu · Sep 13, 2010

hello

okay iam a noob i have just built a pep helm and want to fiber glass it just dont really know what to do never fiberglassed anything before so could someone please run through the steps ? also do you have to glass the inside of the helm or can you do the outside instead ?

Liq · Sep 13, 2010

First make sure you are using a decent respirator before ever touching fiberglass resin. I always put a coat of resin on the outside, let it sit a day then fiberglass/resin the inside ONLY. I like to slop a little resin on the area I'm about to fiberglass before I lay it down. It just makes it easier. Remember fiberglass the inside only, or you'll basically make the piece look like crap.

I think the mix ratio of hardener to resin is 12 drops hardener to 1 ounce of resin. I use a plastic bowl wrapped in aluminum foil so I don't trash the bowl with dried resin. It also seems to me the resin doesn't gum up as fast in the foil, but that might just be placebo.

ventrue · Sep 13, 2010

Liq said:
First make sure you are using a decent respirator before ever touching fiberglass resin.

Decent in this case doesn't only mean good quality, but the respirator also needs to have a filter for organic fumes. For the sanding later you'll need a dust filter as well. Remember that filters will only filter what they are supposed to filter; there are combination filters that suck up a whole range of unhealthy stuff, and there are also filters that only work against a very specific substance. The latter are cheaper, but by no means worse, if you know what you're up against. Also keep in mind that filters wear out, fume filters will then start to let smell through and particle filters will just clog up. Breathing through them without any hazardous material around will also wear them out, as will time. (So.. do not buy cold-war military masks because you feel supercool in them!)

You'll also have to gloves and I'd highly recommend safety glasses, if you're not wearing a full-face mask.

Liq said:
I think the mix ratio of hardener to resin is 12 drops hardener to 1 ounce of resin. I use a plastic bowl wrapped in aluminum foil so I don't trash the bowl with dried resin. It also seems to me the resin doesn't gum up as fast in the foil, but that might just be placebo.

The resin/hardener ratio always depends on the product you're using and it will always be in the instructions, which should of course be read and understood before even thinking about opening the can.

There are many tutorials in text or video form that teach you how to resin, fiberglass or rondo things, you should watch and read those first. Hoewever, some, especially of the video kind, don't really show safety so well. I'm thinking of tuts where the hero would point out his mask and let the camera man put his nose into the newly resined helmet without one, for example, or of vids where people wear masks of the wrong type.

hollywood · Sep 13, 2010

I also recommend wearing some sort of full body cover, like painters coveralls. You can get disposable ones at Lowes for around 5-7 dollars and they last a good while. you can get a box of latex or vinyl gloves for <5 dollars. IT SUCKS to get this stuff on your skin. And if you get it on your clothes, IT WILL NOT come out.

Chantelle · Sep 13, 2010

You can have a fibreglass exterior on armour, you just need about three grades of high quality fine grit buffing blocks for use after sanding, and suitable oil to apply before, during, and after the buffing process. This is the same technique as we use on fibreglass pieces for films and television.

We buy our fibreglass as one long sheet on a ream and unroll it only as we need it. We cut it into little squares to allow greater control and avoid air bubbles. We usually apply a barrier to the mould to ensure easy removability (you can buy them from your fibreglass retailer), then gradually apply resin then fibreglass, bit by bit so you're only worrying about on area at once. You still want to work fast, though, if you're using a fast-curing product or hyperdry.

When you are satisfied and it is fully cured, sand it down as smooth as possible. Apply a liberal coat of oil and progressively buff it with the fine buffing blocks. This will not only make it smooth, but depending on the resin it can also give an amazing metallic shine. If you don't like the shine, you can break it back with 99.9% proof isopropyl alcohol on a wet-wipe and/or a matte primer before painting.

Lord Tofu · Sep 13, 2010

okay cool thanks guys just one more question this one they dont show on vids ;P i have made my helm its looking good so iam going to fiberglass it on the inside and resin on the outside but cause i used pep it very square if that make sense so after the resin and fiberglass how do i get it to look more smooth ? do i use a body filler or something ?

ventrue · Sep 14, 2010

Lord Tofu said:
okay cool thanks guys just one more question this one they dont show on vids ;P i have made my helm its looking good so iam going to fiberglass it on the inside and resin on the outside but cause i used pep it very square if that make sense so after the resin and fiberglass how do i get it to look more smooth ? do i use a body filler or something ?

Actually, this question does come up all around

The answer is yes, once you've resined the outside and glassed the inside (in that order) you use body filler on the outside, let that cure and then sand it to achieve the desired form.

By the way, a few punctuation marks would make your questions way more readable.

Hickeydog · Sep 14, 2010

Lord Tofu said:
okay cool thanks guys just one more question this one they dont show on vids ;P i have made my helm its looking good so iam going to fiberglass it on the inside and resin on the outside but cause i used pep it very square if that make sense so after the resin and fiberglass how do i get it to look more smooth ? do i use a body filler or something ?

Yup. Use the body fill and start smearing it on. I like to use Rondo (Resin and body filler mixed) mixed a little thick, and I apply 2-3 layers of it before I start sanding. I'll end up putting another layer on once I have it sanded to fill in the holes, and then give it a final sanding.

Lord Tofu · Sep 18, 2010

hey I am sorry i know my spelling and grammar sucks

Captain castle · Sep 18, 2010

Hey just had a quick question (long time reader, first time poster

I'm making the army of two masks with my roommate, and we downloaded the pep files from a thread on here, and have them all put together and folded, but in the process of doing that, my roommates mask came out flatter (think predator mask) and mine came out more head shaped (but sloppier, go figure)

So before we start applying the resin, we'd need to give the masks a more sound shape, but we don't really know how to go about it. I suggested using pipe cleaners on the outside until we'd gotten a layer on the inside for solidity, but we're worried that the pipe cleaners won't be rigid enough. I know you guys mostly do Mjolnir masks and they have a fairly set structure that can't deviate TOO much, but any ideas would be fantastic!

Hickeydog · Sep 18, 2010

Captain_castle said:
Hey just had a quick question (long time reader, first time poster

I'm making the army of two masks with my roommate, and we downloaded the pep files from a thread on here, and have them all put together and folded, but in the process of doing that, my roommates mask came out flatter (think predator mask) and mine came out more head shaped (but sloppier, go figure)

So before we start applying the resin, we'd need to give the masks a more sound shape, but we don't really know how to go about it. I suggested using pipe cleaners on the outside until we'd gotten a layer on the inside for solidity, but we're worried that the pipe cleaners won't be rigid enough. I know you guys mostly do Mjolnir masks and they have a fairly set structure that can't deviate TOO much, but any ideas would be fantastic!

Go to Wal Mart and pick up a pack of bamboo sticks. You can get a pack of 100 small ones for, like, $5. Use those to push the paper out to where you want it.

You did use card stock, correct?

Pozzoh · Sep 19, 2010

Ok, so I'm a noob and don't know much about resin. What I do know is that it is extremely toxic, and I've heard of 'aqua resin' and how it's less or non-toxic... Basicly my problem is I have cats, and I don't know anywhere I could work where they wouldn't frolic, so I was wondering if this aqua resin would be ok to use, or if there's anything better. Or maybe I'm over estimating the toxicity of all this stuff, I really don't know, that's why I'm asking. Any tips or advice would be appreciated.

Lord Tofu · Sep 19, 2010

hey guys sorry to be a pain but what type of resin do you use when you paint the outside of the mask?
i watched a youtube vid where the guy only use smooth-cast 321 and was going to do that but in South Africa they don't import it .... like everything thing else you need ?
What else could i use ?

ventrue · Sep 19, 2010

Pozzoh said:
Ok, so I'm a noob and don't know much about resin. What I do know is that it is extremely toxic, and I've heard of 'aqua resin' and how it's less or non-toxic... Basicly my problem is I have cats, and I don't know anywhere I could work where they wouldn't frolic, so I was wondering if this aqua resin would be ok to use, or if there's anything better. Or maybe I'm over estimating the toxicity of all this stuff, I really don't know, that's why I'm asking. Any tips or advice would be appreciated.

It's not "extremely toxic" as in "you drop dead from looking at it". Still, the resin isn't the only thing that's going to be bad for their (and your) health, aqua resin will be a pain as well if it gets in their fur and hardens. Sanding produces lots of dust they will be unprotected against, and if you sand down into the glass fibres, that dust will be highly unhealthy as well. I wouldn't work with pets around me.

Lord Tofu said:
hey guys sorry to be a pain but what type of resin do you use when you paint the outside of the mask?
i watched a youtube vid where the guy only use smooth-cast 321 and was going to do that but in South Africa they don't import it .... like everything thing else you need ?
What else could i use ?

It's polyester resin, the same you use with glass fibres on the inside for reinforcement. It's available in automotive stores or in the car section of large stores like Wal-Mart. There are also specialised internet-shops that sell all the stuff you need to make reinforced plastic, from resin and fibres to safety and tools.

You can use other resins as well, like epoxy resins - at least in theory, I don't know if anyone has tried them ;-)
EDIT: Just read that somebody does use epoxy resin and even that it doesn't eat tape.

Remember to wear the right safety equipment.

JohnRansom · Sep 19, 2010

is bondo necessary for anything except making edges smooth?

ventrue · Sep 19, 2010

JohnRansom said:
is bondo necessary for anything except making edges smooth?

It's needed to make the whole model smooth, i.e. create real curved surfaces, fill dents etc.
Sure, you can skip that step if you're short on time, but it will look a lot better if you don't.

Jabenbetz · Sep 19, 2010

Captain_castle said:
Hey just had a quick question (long time reader, first time poster

I'm making the army of two masks with my roommate, and we downloaded the pep files from a thread on here, and have them all put together and folded, but in the process of doing that, my roommates mask came out flatter (think predator mask) and mine came out more head shaped (but sloppier, go figure)

So before we start applying the resin, we'd need to give the masks a more sound shape, but we don't really know how to go about it. I suggested using pipe cleaners on the outside until we'd gotten a layer on the inside for solidity, but we're worried that the pipe cleaners won't be rigid enough. I know you guys mostly do Mjolnir masks and they have a fairly set structure that can't deviate TOO much, but any ideas would be fantastic!

By flatter do you mean like only covers his face and doesnt reach around his head very far? Thats kinda like what the preadator helmet does i guess. what you can always do is use cardboard or cardstock and "scratchbuild" up the areas that are missing. Once these sections are resined and glassed with the rest of the helmet, they should blend in well enough. Ive used this before in some weapon models and it seemed to work out fine (seemed because i still have to finish it

).
Anyway, best of luck to you and your room mate.

"Help!" for: Fiberglassing, Resin, & Bondo

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