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

[Renton117]

I have two questions,
1) I'm nearly at the point were I will be applying resin and I have noticed tht my helmet has many small details such as grooves and indents how do avoid filling them in whilst still making my helmet strong?

And

2) I also noticed I have tiny holes were the paper isn't joint properly will this matter for the application of resin or not?

 

[recon313]

hey guys i'm been searching in some online shop in my country and i see lot different kind of resin im just wondering does there any of you have the link for a web/thread that has full/some explanation for all type of resin.
i made a bit list of translation summary for you guys read:
Polyurethane Resin "it said that it more harder usual fiberglass resin"
Rub-Tex " not resin but usually used for making material which give rubber output"
lycal " not resin also usually used for making key chain"
Fluorescent Resin " as the name said it's a resin that give Fluorescent output "
EazyFlow60 Polyester Based "low viscosity resin it's a resin which has almost the same viscosity as water"
General Purpose Resin " it said that it a multfuction resin "
Resin Flexiblizer " as resin which give an elastic output and give blue colour "
Resin Full Color " this resin has base colour of white and black accoriding to the order"
here the website http://www.kaskus.co.id/thread/0000...buat-duplikat-boneka-mainan-dan-action-figure you can use google translate to read it.

1. If the helmet includes built-in supports and/or a visor, use them. If not, then you can use a number of things to support your helmet while you resin it (dowel rods, chop sticks/skewers, foam core, etc). Just temporarily glue them into place on the inside of the helmet so they aid in keeping the correct shape, then remove them once you have two or three layers of resin on the exterior. Above all, patience is important during the pep process. Putting the model together correctly in the first place is key.

2 & 3. You only use as much bondo as is necessary to hide imperfections or to smooth out sharp geometry. It's almost never a good idea to slop bondo over the whole helmet and hope to be able to sand the detail back in later. You may find that you don't need to add bondo to certain areas because the pep detail is good enough, that's fine.

In the end, it all comes down to a series of judgment calls. You learn a lot from these decisions.

2&3 i kinda confused on that part as i'm in the middle of building my armor and and i do find a lot imperfection from resin(that's why does other type of resin give the same imperfection and resin is much harder than bondo to sand down especially for lowbudget builder like me which don't have budget too buy the machinery) and i just smear my bondo almost at every part of of the armor(been done on forearm ,biceps and shin so far) as i find lot of imperfection from resin does this really wrong?

and lastly im kinda confused on visor as i've seen some halo build which have hexagonal patern on their halo helmet which i think making patern and custom painted the visor but this result almost no visibilyty on the helmet doe anyone has tut for for doing this

 

[Carpathia]

I have two questions,
1) I'm nearly at the point were I will be applying resin and I have noticed tht my helmet has many small details such as grooves and indents how do avoid filling them in whilst still making my helmet strong?

And

2) I also noticed I have tiny holes were the paper isn't joint properly will this matter for the application of resin or not?

1. Take your time when applying the resin. Don't put too much on the brush; it's better to apply a few thin coats rather than one thick coat.

2. If the resin does not fill those little holes, then whatever you use to strengthen it from the inside (fiberglass/rondo), or a bondo layer after hardening will fill/cover them.

2&3 i kinda confused on that part as i'm in the middle of building my armor and and i do find a lot imperfection from resin(that's why does other type of resin give the same imperfection and resin is much harder than bondo to sand down especially for lowbudget builder like me which don't have budget too buy the machinery) and i just smear my bondo almost at every part of of the armor(been done on forearm ,biceps and shin so far) as i find lot of imperfection from resin does this really wrong?

Like I mentioned to Renton, take your time during the resin process, and you'll start to see less imperfections. You probably see a lot of resin runs; I used to have the same problem. If you still have those, you can sand them away after you harden the piece by using a file or a rasp. A rasp will take down resin imperfections rather quickly; the result will be a bit messy and will need to be covered with a thin application of bondo, but you will use less bondo and will have a smoother surface to apply it to.

It all boils down to patience, and taking your time to do it right. This is a key component to just about any job, from building armor to building a house; take your time, don't rush the process.

 

[Renton117]

1. Take your time when applying the resin. Don't put too much on the brush; it's better to apply a few thin coats rather than one thick coat.

2. If the resin does not fill those little holes, then whatever you use to strengthen it from the inside (fiberglass/rondo), or a bondo layer after hardening will fill/cover them.

Cheers, I might need a smaller brush for the more detailed areas.

Also I need to cut my helmet for it to fit, it's correctly sized it's just built to go down and enclose aroun my neck but obviously the rest of my head won't fit through that hole, so my question is should I cut it now or before I harden it slight so it maintains its shape?

 

[Carpathia]

Cheers, I might need a smaller brush for the more detailed areas.

Also I need to cut my helmet for it to fit, it's correctly sized it's just built to go down and enclose aroun my neck but obviously the rest of my head won't fit through that hole, so my question is should I cut it now or before I harden it slight so it maintains its shape?

I always wait to widen the opening until after I've fiberglassed it.

 

[JayOneSeven]

A question that's probably asked more times than any other here:
When glassing & resin, do you do the inside, or outside of a helmet first?
also, what props/ structural struts do you use to maintain shape while this process goes on?

 

[Carpathia]

A question that's probably asked more times than any other here:
When glassing & resin, do you do the inside, or outside of a helmet first?
also, what props/ structural struts do you use to maintain shape while this process goes on?

You can use anything you wish for supports (dowel rods, bamboo skewers, foam core, etc.). They are temporarily glued in place on the inside. Apply resin on the outside first (two to three coats suffice). After the resin cures, you no longer need the supports, the resin will hold the shape. Once the supports are removed, I slush a thin coat of rondo on the inside to fill all the tiny recesses that would be missed by fiberglass. Once that cures, I apply fiberglass to the inside. Some suggest to use two to three layers of fiberglass, I only use one, but in the process I also use a liberal amount of resin, so it's pretty solid when I'm done with it. To apply the fiberglass, I cut the fiberglass in to strips (2" x 4"), brush some resin on the inside of the helmet where I want to lay a piece, set the fiberglass down in the wet resin and use the brush to dab the glass into the resin so it will soak it up (adding more resin if necessary).

That may be a little more than what you asked for, but there it is.

 

[Renton117]

Is it difficult to cut a fully fiberglassed helm?

 

[JayOneSeven]

You can use anything you wish for supports (dowel rods, bamboo skewers, foam core, etc.). They are temporarily glued in place on the inside. Apply resin on the outside first (two to three coats suffice). After the resin cures, you no longer need the supports, the resin will hold the shape. Once the supports are removed, I slush a thin coat of rondo on the inside to fill all the tiny recesses that would be missed by fiberglass. Once that cures, I apply fiberglass to the inside. Some suggest to use two to three layers of fiberglass, I only use one, but in the process I also use a liberal amount of resin, so it's pretty solid when I'm done with it. To apply the fiberglass, I cut the fiberglass in to strips (2" x 4"), brush some resin on the inside of the helmet where I want to lay a piece, set the fiberglass down in the wet resin and use the brush to dab the glass into the resin so it will soak it up (adding more resin if necessary).

That may be a little more than what you asked for, but there it is.

Naw that's perfect. What quantities do you use to make your rondo?

 

[Carpathia]

Is it difficult to cut a fully fiberglassed helm?

Not if you use a dremel with a cutting wheel.

Naw that's perfect. What quantities do you use to make your rondo?

It depends on the detail of the helmet. If there's a lot of small detail to fill in, I'll do a 50/50 mixture (which will give me a thin consistency). If there's not too much detail, I'll use a 60/40 or 70/30 (more bondo than resin).

 

[recon313]

Like I mentioned to Renton, take your time during the resin process, and you'll start to see less imperfections. You probably see a lot of resin runs; I used to have the same problem. If you still have those, you can sand them away after you harden the piece by using a file or a rasp. A rasp will take down resin imperfections rather quickly; the result will be a bit messy and will need to be covered with a thin application of bondo, but you will use less bondo and will have a smoother surface to apply it to.

It all boils down to patience, and taking your time to do it right. This is a key component to just about any job, from building armor to building a house; take your time, don't rush the process.

rasp is very usefull material just had been using it but it had a bit dangerous as you will find lot of hole if you oversand with rasp too much rather must becaurefull with it next time.

 

[JayOneSeven]

Couple of Rondo questions for any experts out there:
Is Rondo as strong as glassing?
Does the Rondo pool at the base of the helmet? (therefore making it top heavy)
Is Rondo recommended for open helmets (my Skyrim Dovakin helmet, it's a half face helmet with eye slots, not a bowl-type helmet like Halo)

 

[Carpathia]

It's sort of as strong, but it's brittle. Adding a layer of fiberglass overtop rondo helps a lot.

Yes, it will pool if you stop slushing it around before it stiffens up; and yes that would make it top/side/front heavy, wherever it happens to pool. When it stops flowing quickly, but hasn't set up, grab a brush and use that to move the excess rondo to where you want it.

You can easily use it for open helmets; you just have to pay more attention to where it's flowing, or be willing to accept a mess.

 

[JayOneSeven]

The mess isn't really an issue, and in my life I've worked with sheetrock, and as we used to call it in England 'plaster' excessively, so I'm no stranger to sanding down excess. I really only worry because I didn't leave a whole lot of 'breathing room' inside my helmet. There's maybe a half inch all the way round for me to pad it out so I don't want any pools that would take up that space!
So if you continue to slush it until the mix begins to thick, would heat help? I'm living in Colorado and it's already getting pretty damn cold here so I worry about curing. I do have a small space heater at my disposal so would it be better to slosh it with that going? I understand it cures resin quicker, but I'm not sure about Bondo.

 

[Carpathia]

Bondo is just resin with a thickening agent added in, that's why the two are compatible when you mix them together to make rondo (helpful hint, if you find that your bondo is getting too thick as it ages, just pour in a bit of resin to thin it down a bit). That being said, heat will speed up the cure time of bondo and rondo, just like it does with resin. Last summer, when I started to bondo my boots, I only added a fraction of the hardener that I needed, but it was so hot, that I barely got the bondo mixed and the first spatula spread before it started firming up.

 

[The Doctor]

Just wondering, Is bondo needed after the resin fiberglass? I understand it is to strengthen and look better with sanding, but is it necessary?

 

[RedGhost]

No. Bondo is not used as hardening, unless mixed with resin on the inside.

Bondo is exclusivly used for detailing and smoothing out surfaces., altrough it DOES add a LITTLE bit of strenght.

 

[The Doctor]

Hence the name Rondo. Alright alright alright.
Toxicity is an iffy bit around here. Alright sticking with Resin and moving straight to sanding and primer.

 

[JayOneSeven]

Is this the resin that you are all using?

 

[Carpathia]

That's what I use.