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

[King Ramna]

As above, You dont truly dont need to use body filler everywhere. In fact, there are instances in which you dont want to do it, like on detailed faces in which you dont want anything to change. However, if you have a large piece that is flat, but instead want it slightly rounded, then adding bondo onto it and slowly sanding it to the shape you want is the way to go.
Since you've already bondoed it, sand it down to how you like the way it looks. This is your build, it's important that you like it. After you sand it down to the shape you want, get some finer sandpaper and smooth it out as though it were a piece of sheetmetal or whatever else is really smooth. That way you dont have any rough textures when you paint, cuz they will show up in the paint.

Thanks for the insight, I too thought you needed to have body filler all over. The purpose of using it for sculpting your desired shape make alot of sense. I don't need it in places where I want to keep the detail from the pep. Thank you!

 

[Noble 828]

Hi


I am very new to this. I just finished making my helmet for a school project and I was wondering if you can fiberglass/resin in the winter, since winter is coming up soon and it is getting pretty cold already where I am staying.

 

[ventrue]

I am very new to this. I just finished making my helmet for a school project and I was wondering if you can fiberglass/resin in the winter, since winter is coming up soon and it is getting pretty cold already where I am staying.

Chemicals don't care about the season, they only care about things like temperature and moisture. So, you can work with resin, but you can't do it if the temperature is going to fall below a certain minimum (have a look at the can, something around 20 °C) before curing.

 

[Hickeydog]

Hi


I am very new to this. I just finished making my helmet for a school project and I was wondering if you can fiberglass/resin in the winter, since winter is coming up soon and it is getting pretty cold already where I am staying.

You can keep the resin in the house, and then take it outside to work with it, it seems to cure just fine. As long as the resin is warm when you mix in the hardener, it seems to cure just fine and dandy. I've resined stuff out in the garage in temperatures around 40F.

 

[Noble 828]

Chemicals don't care about the season, they only care about things like temperature and moisture. So, you can work with resin, but you can't do it if the temperature is going to fall below a certain minimum (have a look at the can, something around 20 °C) before curing.

Thanks for the tip.

 

[Noble 828]

Chemicals don't care about the season, they only care about things like temperature and moisture. So, you can work with resin, but you can't do it if the temperature is going to fall below a certain minimum (have a look at the can, something around 20 °C) before curing.

Thanks for the help.

 

[ventrue]

You can keep the resin in the house, and then take it outside to work with it, it seems to cure just fine. As long as the resin is warm when you mix in the hardener, it seems to cure just fine and dandy. I've resined stuff out in the garage in temperatures around 40F.

It may cure, but the results will be inferior to the same product curing at a higher temperature. Not sure though if this is relevant in costume building, though

 

[Hickeydog]

It may cure, but the results will be inferior to the same product curing at a higher temperature. Not sure though if this is relevant in costume building, though

Really? I haven't noticed any difference....it could be that I don't pay particular attention to the results, but the only time I've had a problem with the resin not hardening is when I failed to add enough hardener.

 

[ventrue]

Really? I haven't noticed any difference....it could be that I don't pay particular attention to the results, but the only time I've had a problem with the resin not hardening is when I failed to add enough hardener.

Yeah. For the best results, it's even recommended (at least for my resin) to bake it at 70°C for two hours after a day at 20°C. Which no home-user will ever do, of course

 

[Nobodysktr]

I applied bondo to my helmet and I had been mixing it hot and it was hardening too fast. This last time it seems like I didn't use enough. Its been 2 days and it still gums up the sandpaper when I try to sand it smooth. Any way to fix my mistake?

 

[DR4296]

I applied bondo to my helmet and I had been mixing it hot and it was hardening too fast. This last time it seems like I didn't use enough. Its been 2 days and it still gums up the sandpaper when I try to sand it smooth. Any way to fix my mistake?

So... the gummy stuff is the stuff from your earlier application, right?

I had a slightly-different problem, but I think the solution might work for you.:

I've noticed that when I near the end of my batch of rondo, the stuff at the bottom of my cup doesn't have much of the red stuff mixed in with it. It's sort of grayer than the rest. Now, since I actually realized this, I mix the cup more thoroughly. But prior to that, I was just slapping this grayer stuff on. And, of course, those parts came out "sticky", to the point where I'd get some on my body or my clothing when trying the piece on.

What I ended up doing to fix that... was I mixed up a fresh, good batch, and then used a paint brush to paint a thin new layer over those areas.

Now, those areas were INTERIOR areas.... the insides of my parts, not the outsides. And I haven't actually needed to sand down INTO those areas. So, I'm sure I'll be fine.

But in your situation, I guess the key question is.... will you be needing to sand down into that layer of the helmet (assuming you put another thin harder layer over it) ?? If you do, then my method probably won't work for you. I don't think a thin harder layer above will chemically react at all with the mushier stuff below it. So, if you will need to be sanding details down into that.... heck, might as well get a small scraper and start scraping the gunk off of it.

 

[NeoKeth]

You could always use more hardener. I have been finding that the amount of hardener and the amount of resin for fiberglass and bondo, almost NEVER match up. I believe you can get just tubes of hardener for like $2. Someone tell me if my price guess is way off.
But i have yet another question. There is no way to get bondo out of clothing is there?

 

[Nobodysktr]

so mixing a batch of hot bondo and applying it on top of what I have won't harden what I have put down already?

 

[DR4296]

so mixing a batch of hot bondo and applying it on top of what I have won't harden what I have put down already?

I don't think so. I haven't sanded into my overlay to see if the stuff underneath is still soft... but it's just logical to think that the chemical reaction of your new layer won't do anything to the earlier layer. I mean, maybe a thin skin of the old layer might harden, because it's "touching" the new, properly-mixed layer. But I would think that old layer would continue to be mush. Don't know if, over time, that would harden up any.

 

[ventrue]

You could always use more hardener. I have been finding that the amount of hardener and the amount of resin for fiberglass and bondo, almost NEVER match up. I believe you can get just tubes of hardener for like $2. Someone tell me if my price guess is way off.
But i have yet another question. There is no way to get bondo out of clothing is there?

Usually resin and body filler come with exactly the amount you'd need to harden the whole package. The problem is that you mix it in small batches and always use a little more, to be on the safe side.

Also, if the body filler on the helmet is really "liquid", why not just scrape or wipe it back off?

And to get resin out of your clothes... As long as it's not cured, you can try Acetone, but that might remove more than just the resin.

 

[Charlie13]

Hey guys,
After resining the outside of my helmet with a couple of layers(letting it sit for a week), I fiberglassed the inside today and figured out that the helmet is now warped as hell X___X. I speculated alot what I could have done wrong. Maybe too much resin? (1layer resin,1 layer fiberglassmat ,1layer resin on the top) Or maybe the helmet looses stability, as I cut out the visor before Fiberglassing? Seriously I got no clue X__X.... Got some tips what I can do to prevent warping while fiberglassing?

 

[Hickeydog]

Hey guys,
After resining the outside of my helmet with a couple of layers(letting it sit for a week), I fiberglassed the inside today and figured out that the helmet is now warped as hell X___X. I speculated alot what I could have done wrong. Maybe too much resin? (1layer resin,1 layer fiberglassmat ,1layer resin on the top) Or maybe the helmet looses stability, as I cut out the visor before Fiberglassing? Seriously I got no clue X__X.... Got some tips what I can do to prevent warping while fiberglassing?

Leave the visor intact. Ass a few more layers of resin to the outside, and try doing a thin layer of Rondo on the inside.

 

[TheEnigmaticTwinky]

How should I make and apply rondo? Do I add the hardener, mix the bondo and resin together, and brush it on? Or is there another way?

 

[Roadkiller]

Watch this video (and the next in the series):

 

[Noble Seven]

Hello all, what I can use to strengthen the shins/fore arms, I have tried glassing but it is a pain right in the tuchus. is there anything I can pick up at an automotive store that would help?