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

[Carpathia]

So would u apply a first layer of bondo over the whole helmet? Or just specific spots u want to improve ?

Work in small sections. Many people who smother their entire helmet with bondo end up with under-sanded helmets because the task of sanding the entire helmet becomes too much. So, (depending on what helmet you're working one) start with the top and get it smoothed (which means bondo applied, and sanded) then clean off the dust covering the helmet and move onto the next small section. This is how I've bondoed every part of my armor, and I feel it's the best way to go about doing it.

 

[TheSlammerss]

Work in small sections. Many people who smother their entire helmet with bondo end up with under-sanded helmets because the task of sanding the entire helmet becomes too much. So, (depending on what helmet you're working one) start with the top and get it smoothed (which means bondo applied, and sanded) then clean off the dust covering the helmet and move onto the next small section. This is how I've bondoed every part of my armor, and I feel it's the best way to go about doing it.

I'm working on a recon helm btw and ok thank you so like one day the chin next day the top or whatever

 

[TMC]

Hey 405th! So I've been lurking a lot now and something is really bothering me. Everyone seems to have a different idea on fiberglassing and rondoing. What I mean is, I was told earlier that a coat of resin on the inside is unnecessary, so I just put two coats on the outside. Then they said I could skip to rondoing the inside, but I saw a tutorial that said you need to glass the inside first. But the same person that told me the internal resin was unnecessary told me to glass the inside AFTER the rondo stage. So I'm very confused. If anyone could clear some of this up for me, I'd be glad. Thanks!

 

[TheRabbit]

Obviously everyone has different ideas on how to finish things, this is what I do, and why:
Resin outside. Makes things sturdy enough to not warp in the next stage, adds negligible weight (1-2oz for most pieces).
Rondo inside. Adds weight and also fills small cracks and evens out drastic topography to allow for easier fiberglassing.
Fiberglass inside. I generally do 2 layers of fiberglass all over, with additional enforcing in areas that need it. It's best to use fiberglass cloth where you can (in as large of a piece as you can) and use fiberglass mat in the areas that have drastic changes in shape where cloth wouldn't be able to cover.
Sand down edges on the outside, fix anything that needs to be fixed.
Bondo (auto-filler) outside. Fix curves, add details.
Sand. Smooth things out.
Prime. Gives paint something better to stick to and allows for smoother sanding.
Sand.
Paint. Adds color.
Sand. Final sanding, gives you a flat, smooth surface.
Clear coat. Protects the paint layer.

You can skip or add additional sanding steps depending on how smooth or rough you want the final piece to be.

 

[Skullptura]

Ive been trialling ripping up the fibreglass matt into its individual layers of only one fibre-strand thick. and putting it on the outside on the joining pieces during the initial resin coat. So far its been fan friggin tastic rofl. When i fibreglassed the inside i just went nuts with the resin over the matting and it never fell apart. But yeah thats just personal preference for me. The first Halo MarkVI piece i made was almost finished resining the outside went inside got myself a coffee before finishing it off and it had collapsed right in the middle rofl started again.

 

[TheRabbit]

Your post is kind of hard to understand, do you mean that you are fiberglassing the outside of your armor?

 

[Skullptura]

Not specifically the outside. Just several fibres along the lines where the paper is glued together. This prevents the glue from being disolved by the resin during the fibreglassing stage on the inside of the piece. Thats all i meant. The fibres are really thin and easily sanded back if they stick out a bit. If you need to bondo it up a little bit for detailing it also provides a rough surface for it to stick to. I do that for all my pieces now. Havent had one fall apart since i started doing that. It also holds the piece in the right shape to certain degree.

 

[SergantTinkers]

What kind of glue are you using for pep work, Skullptura? Your pieces shouldn't be collapsing. If they are, it may be because the resin is dissolving the glue itself, in which you may need to switch glue types. I use superglue, as does TheRabbit, and I have not at all had my pieces separate during resin coats.

 

[Carpathia]

Elmer's here, with no problems what-so-ever.

 

[SergantTinkers]

Also, I have a question about bondo: I have been doing bondo work on a lot of my suit pieces, and a fair amount of voids have appeared in the bondo. The bondo I've been working with had been opened about a month ago, to practice with bondo early on to prevent messed up pieces. I've recently purchased new bondo and it seems to be spreading better. So my question is would the reason the bondo didn't spread well really be because of age? If not, what would be some tips on making smooth bondo work, aside from doing it in small bits at a time?

 

[Carpathia]

Bondo is actually made up of two parts, resin and a thickening agent. These two parts can begin to separate if left alone for long enough and you will notice that the bondo will not spread as well. Every now and then, take a mixer and stir up your bondo, much like you do a gallon of paint before you use it. If you find that the bondo is getting too thick and no amount of stirring makes it better, mix in some resin to thin it up a bit.

 

[Skullptura]

What kind of glue are you using for pep work, Skullptura? Your pieces shouldn't be collapsing. If they are, it may be because the resin is dissolving the glue itself, in which you may need to switch glue types. I use superglue, as does TheRabbit, and I have not at all had my pieces separate during resin coats.

I thought about that but the fibres on the outside seem to help the item stay in shape without the use for any internal supports. Simply put, they dont warp. So I'll stick with this method for now.

 

[SergantTinkers]

Alright, then. Just want to ensure you don't make any mistakes. If it prevents warping, and doesn't get in the way of bondo, then great! Speaking of bondo, thanks carpathia! That really helps me.

 

[Skullptura]

Hey man all good. Any and all help is appreciated. I played around with that armour piece which is a thigh piece from the T-51b power armour from fallout 3 New Vegas. And I was rather impressed with how well it stayed in shape. I never put any support struts in at all and it never warped. After a little bit of sanding the body filler I used went really well over it, as it seemed to provide little bumps for the body filler to hold onto. I dont think this method will work on many helmets at all. None of my helmets have collapsed yet. The armour piece was probably just too heavily loaded with resin. Ill have to check lol I still got it somewhere to remind me of what not to do ROFL.

 

[TMC]

Hey guys, I have another question... (if you check my posts, I think I have like 20+ now, haha) So, I rondoed the inside of my helmet. Everything went fine until I went to glass it. Long story short, I did a pretty bad job working with the fiberglass. I have lots of spots where the glass kind of bows out and is EXTREMELY irritating. It seems that the rondo work I've done to make it easier to glass actually did nothing. So... basically I'm asking, is it worth going over the inside with another layer of fiberglass? Or should I just skip to bondoing the outside? That was my other question. (Yes, I know I said I had a question as in one, but I never actually just have one) When you bondo, my understanding is that you BONDO, not RONDO the outside, correct? Also, do you sand before you BONDO? I've seen people who have said to sand before you BONDO, but that doesn't make sense to me, because I thought BONDO was used as a surface to sand... Sorry for the long, confusing question.

 

[misfitjh]

TMC...I would forgo adding another layer of fiberglass. One layer of rondo and one of fiberglass should be enough. Just trim off any parts that stick out so they don't poke you and your good to bondo. Ok for the bondo part, some guys will sand the joint lines before they bondo to cut down on the amount of bondo needed. I myself give it a good once over to find my low spots (they remain shinny after sanding) as well as sand the join lines. Just remember to keep your bondo light and do small areas, if you cover the helm with bondo your going to find it a real pain in the butt to sand off, plus it uses up alot of product for nothing.

 

[TheRabbit]

TMC, take a dremel, and cut away the bad fiberglass areas. I'm assuming when you say you did a bad job and there is bowing that you mean there are large air pockets under the fiberglass. If that's the case, the fiberglass in that area isn't doing anything structurally speaking. Just cut away the bad areas, grind down the rough spots, and lay another layer of fiberglass in. Don't just fiberglass over the existing bubbles. All that will do is reinforce an air bubble, which as I said, isn't structural.

Yes, you Bondo the outside, not rondo. You can sand before bondoing, and it would actually be a good idea depending on what condition the exterior of the piece is. Sanding helps adhesion of the bondo layer, and like misfitjh said, it can also help round out the piece and help you find low/high spots.

 

[SergantTinkers]

Hello again, 405th! Let me just apologize in advance for my lack of presence in the community (I've merely been working on my suit, and haven't had the time!).

On to my question: I've been working on bondo for my suit and have most of the work done. While I was at work, I had an idea regarding the voids that have manifested on the suit pieces (keep in mind my suit pieces don't have massive craters, but merely slight pockets, or areas where application didn't go as well). If you've worked with resin, then you know it has the ability to close small holes in pep documents, preventing excessive patch-work. So, why not use that to my advantage? My theory is to apply a resin coat AFTER bondo application, thus smoothing the surface of the suit pieces (While not applying it to any small details, engravings, or other important structures within the bondo itself, of course), while making sure to lightly sand down the surface once more to allow paint a better surface to adhere to.

Would this be a good idea? Would it be a bad one? Would it in any way negatively impact the structure of the bondo (Again, not the engravings and minute details, which would probably be removed by the resin coat)? If so, why? Any help would be of an incredible assistance to me!

 

[misfitjh]

SergantTinkers....In all honesty adding another coat of resin after you have done bondo would be a waste of material (just my opinion), your goig to have to sand 90% of it off again to get the armor smooth. If your getting alot of blemishes in your bondo there might be other reasons. If you work you bondo to long it starts to harden and you get alot of ruff surfaces. If your getting holes or tiny pot holes then that was trapped air, those can be fixed with another coat of bondo or spot putty.If you have layed your bondo and sanded and there is still a dark spot or a spot you can't sand then that's a low spot.

I guess I'm just saying don't waste the resin. Oh also a tip if your getting holes before you fill them you need to open them up a little kind of like this \/ that way the bondo or spot putty gets right down in the hole. If you keep your coats thin and light you'll get less trapped air and less holes.

 

[Skullptura]

Im in Australia, Darwin, so I can use this magic substance called Bondo. I just use car body filler from a store just up the road from where I work. LOL I'm still at work now....... Anyway, all I do when using the filler agent, (when using it on the outside of course) I apply it with a paint scraper.

________
\.........../
.\........./
..l........l
..l........l
..l........l
..\......./
...IIIIIII
...l..O..l
...l......l
...l......l
...l..O..l
...IIIIIII
...\___/

A bit crude of a picture but yeh... I force it down into the cracks wich forces the air out of the little holes and cracks.
I still mix the filler with resin to make a RONDO-like substance which is awesome for the inside bits.