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

[inclol]

Hey guys, quick question. I just resined my Samus Aran Helmet, 1 layer on the seams, two more layers for extra rigidity. I've let that cure for more than 3 hours now and when I touch it it's still a little bit "sticky". Not much but doesn't look fully cured.
It's stayin' in my garage which is heated but the windows are open to let the fumes out and it's pretty cold outside... is it the cause ? Letting it cure in a more heated but closed environment doesn't sound like a very good idea to me. What would you recommend ?

 

[ventrue]

Hey guys, quick question. I just resined my Samus Aran Helmet, 1 layer on the seams, two more layers for extra rigidity. I've let that cure for more than 3 hours now and when I touch it it's still a little bit "sticky". Not much but doesn't look fully cured.
It's stayin' in my garage which is heated but the windows are open to let the fumes out and it's pretty cold outside... is it the cause ? Letting it cure in a more heated but closed environment doesn't sound like a very good idea to me. What would you recommend ?

The resin probably takes longer than that to get un-tacky and longer yet to reach its final strength. The can should tell you how long exactly, but you mentioned that it doesn't even say how much hardener goes in, so who knows :-D
My polyester resin takes about a day in a semi-heated room to get there.

What I would do is close the windows, make sure the temperature doesn't drop below 24 °C or whatever you resin's mininum curing temperature is and letting it sit like that for a day. You can still vent the fumes after that, garages usually have big doors, so that should be pretty fast and easy ;-)

 

[LongShot X]

Hey guys, quick question. I just resined my Samus Aran Helmet, 1 layer on the seams, two more layers for extra rigidity. I've let that cure for more than 3 hours now and when I touch it it's still a little bit "sticky". Not much but doesn't look fully cured.
It's stayin' in my garage which is heated but the windows are open to let the fumes out and it's pretty cold outside... is it the cause ? Letting it cure in a more heated but closed environment doesn't sound like a very good idea to me. What would you recommend ?

I've had that happen to me too. If its fiberglass resin, then that is usually caused by 1 of 3 things:
- Not enough hardner
- Too low of room temperature to cure
- Forgetting to wipe the Acetone off the brush

The solution is easy to fix. Apply another coat of resin with the correct amount of hardner. That's what I did and it worked.

Cheers

 

[inclol]

The solution is easy to fix. Apply another coat of resin with the correct amount of hardner. That's what I did and it worked.

Really ? Well I'll let it stay like this for tonight and if it's not cured tomorrow, I'll try that. I believe I've put enough harderner, at least my brush say so ; it became stiff hard right after I finished applying it. Which was like 10 minutes. Still it's hard to say, I got no indications...

The can should tell you how long exactly, but you mentioned that it doesn't even say how much hardener goes in, so who knows :-D

Yep, they just say you have 5-10 minutes to apply it once mixed and it takes 30 minutes to dry... ? Sounds optimistic.

EDIT : would using a hot air gun to speed up the curing be a good idea ?

 

[BLACKULA727]

Quick question, what do you recommend I do to get rid of air bubbles in my fiberglass? I have about 5 or 6 quarters sized air bubbles that I need to fix on my recon helmet project. Thanks for the help!

 

[Hickeydog]

Quick question, what do you recommend I do to get rid of air bubbles in my fiberglass? I have about 5 or 6 quarters sized air bubbles that I need to fix on my recon helmet project. Thanks for the help!

You can poke a hole in the fiberglass and pour some Rondo or resin in there.

To avoid the bubbles in the future, use small pieces of Fiberglass cloth, about 1" square and push it into the nooks and crannies with the brush.

 

[inclol]

...What about the brushes you used with resin ? Is there a way to wash them ? Mine are saoking in acetone but they're still rock solid. How do you do guys ? Cause makin a whole armor without reusing brushes... Man, I'll need 50 of them !

 

[ventrue]

...What about the brushes you used with resin ? Is there a way to wash them ? Mine are saoking in acetone but they're still rock solid. How do you do guys ? Cause makin a whole armor without reusing brushes... Man, I'll need 50 of them !

Acetone will only dissolve uncured resin. Once it's hard, you can only remove it mechanically - for a brush, that means not at all.

You can either use really cheap brushes one time each, or clean them up RIGHT after using them, or you can completely switch hardening methods and use one that doesn't need a brush.

 

[OptimusWang]

...What about the brushes you used with resin ? Is there a way to wash them ? Mine are saoking in acetone but they're still rock solid. How do you do guys ? Cause makin a whole armor without reusing brushes... Man, I'll need 50 of them !

Harbor Freight sells them buy the box, 36 brushes for $7. At that price you can use it once and toss it. http://www.harborfreight.com/pack-of-36-1-inch-industrial-grade-chip-brushes-4181.html

 

[Z0M8I3]

Hey guys, quick question. I just resined my Samus Aran Helmet, 1 layer on the seams, two more layers for extra rigidity. I've let that cure for more than 3 hours now and when I touch it it's still a little bit "sticky". Not much but doesn't look fully cured.
It's stayin' in my garage which is heated but the windows are open to let the fumes out and it's pretty cold outside... is it the cause ? Letting it cure in a more heated but closed environment doesn't sound like a very good idea to me. What would you recommend ?

How is the helm today? I would recommend letting it cure at around 60-70 °F. It's heat that causes the hardening but too much would not be good for obvious reasons. If you were to use a heat gun on the resin to speed it up you run the risk of the resin cracking from curing too fast. It can be done, You just have to watch how much heat you put to it.

 

[inclol]

Acetone will only dissolve uncured resin. Once it's hard, you can only remove it mechanically - for a brush, that means not at all.

Aaaaw damn. If resin wasn't so liquid I could use some other tools.

Harbor Freight sells them buy the box, 36 brushes for $7. At that price you can use it once and toss it. http://www.harborfreight.com/pack-of...shes-4181.html

Sounds interesting, but I'll have to find something equivalent in France... :rolleyes

How is the helm today? I would recommend letting it cure at around 60-70 °F. It's heat that causes the hardening but too much would not be good for obvious reasons. If you were to use a heat gun on the resin to speed it up you run the risk of the resin cracking from curing too fast. It can be done, You just have to watch how much heat you put to it.

It's a bit better, not perfect yet. If i had some brushes I would have tried another layer of resin with more hardener. Anyway I'll have to wait, it seems. I'll make use of that to pep some parts.

 

[ventrue]

Aaaaw damn. If resin wasn't so liquid I could use some other tools.

Well, for resining you won't get around using a brush, but you don't neccessarily need one for hardening.

 

[inclol]

Well, for resining you won't get around using a brush, but you don't neccessarily need one for hardening.

Mmmmm ? What do you mean exactly... ? Is there another way to harden than applying a new layer of resin ?

 

[BLACKULA727]

You can poke a hole in the fiberglass and pour some Rondo or resin in there.

To avoid the bubbles in the future, use small pieces of Fiberglass cloth, about 1" square and push it into the nooks and crannies with the brush.

Thanks for the help. I appreciate it. I will post pics on this in the future. I need to get further along though.

 

[silentd3at4]

When the site is referring to bondo are we talkin about body-filler bondo or all purpose bondo? I bought both not even realizing it from two different stores. Which should I be using to bondo my armor?

 

[ventrue]

Mmmmm ? What do you mean exactly... ? Is there another way to harden than applying a new layer of resin ?

By "hardening" I meant whatever you do after the resining. As I said, brushing on resin can only be done with a brush.

For this hardening process, I add cotton and fibres to my resin mixture until it hardly flows any more. It's still liquid by definition, but if you "pour" it into the helmet, it won't flow around, but rather stay put until you turn the helmet 180° - and then fall out. You could probably get a Rondo with similar properties by adding less resin. All you need to spread it is a large popsicle stick (visible in a few of my pictures) for like 20 €-cents (Hmm... what's the official signe for Euro-cents?? sounds stupid writing it like this...). You can get those sticks in packs of a hundred from any place that sells medical supplies and even get a discount if you buy larger quantities. But here's the best part: You can also use them to stir your resin... and they don't die in the process. You can just wipe the excess resin off with a 3 €-c paper towel (you're probably using one anyways, so nothing is wasted) and use them again next time!

 

[hollywood]

I have a bondo question specific to the recon helmet. I am using the smoothed recon file, which was great to assemble and smooth out. Problem is, I am trying to build up the chin and jawline (the sort of jaw "wings" that are nice and angular at the edges). As the smooth file doesnt give much to work with in this area, so its pretty much pure bondo artistry from this point. I was wondering if anyone had some advice. I have tried blocking in with foam and tape then rondoing, but I'm still having a really hard time getting that nice sharp look like Spase and Belakor's helmets.

 

[inclol]

By "hardening" I meant whatever you do after the resining.

Aaaah, I was thinking hardening as "making the helm hard enough before reinforcing it". That's why I couldn't understand ^^ Well I'm not 100% sure there's enough resin for the moment. Everything is solid and doesn't bend but if I press a little on the big parts of paper, I can warp them a bit I guess. Is it OK ? If so, I'll start reinforcing. I just hope I have the right type of paper, i'm afraid it didn't completely absorb the resin.

For this hardening process, I add cotton and fibres to my resin mixture until it hardly flows any more. It's still liquid by definition, but if you "pour" it into the helmet, it won't flow around, but rather stay put until you turn the helmet 180° - and then fall out.

I had a hard time figuring what the hell you were talking about in your thread, but now it all makes sense sounds pretty awesome and way easier than standard fiberglassing. Rondo can get expensive. Do you have a source, or examples of where we can find those materials ? I'm not sure to see what it's supposed to look like.

Hmm... what's the official signe for Euro-cents??

Well there isn't any, we say 0.20 € or 20 centimes...

 

[tsau mia]

When the site is referring to bondo are we talkin about body-filler bondo or all purpose bondo? I bought both not even realizing it from two different stores. Which should I be using to bondo my armor?

Most people use the automotive body filler. I have not experienced the difference, but I imagine it is more durable than the all-purpose stuff. If I were you, I would test small amounts of each on different parts, and see which you like better. You may not even have to buy more, and you could use both!

 

[ventrue]

Aaaah, I was thinking hardening as "making the helm hard enough before reinforcing it". That's why I couldn't understand ^^ Well I'm not 100% sure there's enough resin for the moment. Everything is solid and doesn't bend but if I press a little on the big parts of paper, I can warp them a bit I guess. Is it OK ? If so, I'll start reinforcing. I just hope I have the right type of paper, i'm afraid it didn't completely absorb the resin.

I think that should be ok. It doesn't have to be rock solid now, that's why you are going to harden it. It just needs to be able to resist whatever you are planning to do with it. Holding the helmet (while working on it, i.e. with a little more pressure than when you just lift it) shouldn't cause permanent deformations, for example.

I had a hard time figuring what the hell you were talking about in your thread, but now it all makes sense sounds pretty awesome and way easier than standard fiberglassing. Rondo can get expensive. Do you have a source, or examples of where we can find those materials ? I'm not sure to see what it's supposed to look like.

Can you tell me where and what exactly, so I can improve it? PM please, if it's off topic here. I don't want anything in my thread that doesn't make sense

The wood sticks are available on ebay for a good price and there are several online stores in Germany that are specialised in reinforced plastics (resins, filling materials, reinforcement materials, tools, etc.). There are probably similar stores in France where you can order. I found my first one by looking for resin on ebay and then following the link back to the guy's own web store, where he has a wider range of products available than on ebay.

Chopped fibres look like this:

And the cotton (aka microflocks) looks like this:

Mine came in bags, some shops also sell them in cool plastic containers with a screw cap.