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

[Red Sentiment]

Where can I find Aqua Resin? I've been to Hobby Lobby and Wal-Mart and couldn't find it... Is there a way I can just go to a store and buy some or do I have no choice and have to order it online somewhere?

 

[xBeaver Feaver]

Hello Again,

A few questions for fellow builders who live alittle north... My workshop is outdoors with no heat. Where I live we currently have about 4" of snow and its about -10.

Does anybody modify the mix ratios to deal with working in this colder weather? I have been mixing my resin and Bondo alittle "hotter" than I normally would, and Im still seing fairly lengthy working times. I thing I have noticed is that when I apply resin or rondo, the mixture dries hard, but it remains sticky to the touch. Is this because of the curing in cold weather?

If anybody has any tips for dealing with the cold, I love to hear them. Its not gonna get any warmer here till May.

 

[Hickeydog]

Unfortunately, that's too cold. If it's above 45F, you can just add more hardener and wait a little longer.

With those temps, your best bet would be to get a space heater and set your piece in front of it. But not close enough to light it on fire.

 

[GunGryphon]

Getting an electric heater (one that moves air) is a must for working in colder temperatures. Unless you mix alot more hardener with the mixture, the pieces wont harden without a heater (I let one piece sit for 2 days without one and it was still tacky. Hope This Helps.
Gryphon-

 

[ventrue]

Does anybody modify the mix ratios to deal with working in this colder weather?

I thought you were using epoxy? You can't change the mixing ratio there.

You could try using different materials altogether and work inside. There are certain resins that aren't toxic at all, mostly urethane-based. You can try looking for Smooth-On products, they're fairly popular around here. My retailer also told me that there actually are non-toxic epoxies, but those are supposed to be very expensive (and difficult to get).

Also, epoxy itself hardly emits any fumes (provided you have a solvent-free one), so it's a lot easier to work with inside than polyester resin. It also is the better choice for the outside-with-heater solution, because it hardens at lower temperatures (10 instead of 24 °C). There are also epoxy-based puttys you could use to replace Bondo, I suppose they are similar in terms of toxicity.
Still, you should keep kids and pets away from that stuff, obviously. Can't be too safe.

 

[tsau mia]

I live in Washington, and let me tell you, it's pretty cold outside. It was cold when I constructed my helmet too. What I did was simple. I bundled up and brought my work table outside, under the porch. Then I proceeded with all of the steps, and after I applied anything that needed drying time, I dried it with a hair dryer for about fifteen minutes. Keep the hair dryer on low and at least a foot away from the object. After fifteen minutes, it is okay to leave outside, at least until night. I brought mine in at night and put it i n a closet that wasn't accessed too often, to minimize fumes.

 

[Roadkiller]

I've been working on a Mk VI helmet. I pepped as normal. Caught a good day (12 degrees C) and used the standard "fibreglass" resin (with a hefty hardener %) to stiffen the model. Then used Smooth Cast 321 to slush cast the inside. Now detailing and smoothing the outside with Apoxie Sculpt vice auto-body filler ("Bondo" brand).

I ordered on line from Sculpture Supply Canada, so shipping was reasonable within Canada. They will ship to the US and overseas as well.

1/2 of a pint kit of 321 made a good strong helmet. http://www.sculpturesupply.com/detail.php?id=796551&sf=category&vl=Liquid+Plastics

You can work the Apoxie Sculpt with your finger and water, so it spreads a long way. http://www.sculpturesupply.com/detail.php?id=236332&sf=searchtext&vl=apoxie+sculpt

As an experiment, I took a pepped test piece (boot toe) and stiffened it with sandable carpenters glue instead of resin. I had to thin the glue with water a bit, but it went on fine and when dry the model was quite stiff. In fact, it was a bit brittle. However, a bit of slushing some 321 and it was the same as any other piece.

Most of the work could be done indoors, or at least with just a minimal exposure to 'old man winter'.

 

[n1njqch1cken]

urghhhh, im such a noob, i have read through alot of posts, threads snd stuff, but i still don't understand how it works..... the resin, fiber glass, bondo, that stuff....

so could someone layout a clear, step by step guide along with the needed materials, prefferably from australia??? please?!?!?! i need the steps from PEPAKURA through to ready to be PAINTED

 

[Gforce598]

There are far too many steps to list in one huge post but if you take a look at some of the videos on youtube it will help greatly. Basiclly you will need bondo or some other body filler, resin for fiberglassing, hardner for each of them(liquid and creame), sandpaper, and alot of patience. If you have never worked with these materials before read the directions for mixing them and apply small amounts of filler after resining the inside and outside of the piece. You want to try to keep your filler somewhat flat and even on the piece your working on to minimise the amount of sanding you need to do. I myself use a mesh sandpaper made for sanding drywall. This helps keep the paper from getting caked up too quickly and works very well with a small viberating palm sander. Make sure you only apply the figerglass to the inside of your piece as you dont want to have to sand it very much. The amount of glass you use will be up to you as far as how strong you want it to be in the end. The thicker the glass the stronger it will be but also the heavier it will be. I use a combination of cloth and matt glass but mainly I use the matt as this helps you get a higher amount of glass built up without all the applications necessary with the cloth to get it strong. You will also need some plastic cups of some type for mixing of resin as well as some cheap brushes for applying the resin. I use mixing cups made by 3M for paint mixing that I picked up at a local car sawp meet. They were about 30 cents each and have divisions marked on them for measuring and ratios. For brushes I use cheap brushes that are typically called acid brushes. These have a metal tube shaped handle and horsehair bristels. When working with the glass and resin where rubber gloves like vinyl or latex type like for medical proceedures and be sure to precut your glass into small pieces of varying sizes depending on the piece your working on. Wet the surface of the part liberally with some resin and place the glass into the resin and then DABB the glass untill it is pressed frimly into place and it becomes a dark uniform color. This means you have worked the resin into the glass and have as much air out of it as you can get. The more saturated and firmly pressed the glass is the stronger it will be and better it will adhear to the part. Try to keep the drips on the outer surface to a minimum as well to help later when it comes time to shape the outside surface. When working with the resin I usually only mix about 4 ounces per time to try to keep waste down. When you are finished using one cup let it harden and you can re-use the cup by flexing the outside all the way around it and you can then pop out the old resin to have a nice clean cup again. I leave my old brush in the cup also to help get the resin out later as well. I got my brushes from Harbor Frieght Tools and they come in a bag of about 20 or so for about $2.50. Make sure you have cardboard layed out under your work when working with resin for easy clean up. As always make sure you work in a well ventilated are and use a resperator to lessen the amount of fumes you inhale. I hope this helps you get started at least but look at some of the videos for tips on techniques for applying the filler and glass ect. You will get better with practice just like anything else. Later, Gforce598

 

[n1njqch1cken]

There are far too many steps to list in one huge post but if you take a look at some of the videos on youtube it will help greatly. Basiclly you will need bondo or some other body filler, resin for fiberglassing, hardner for each of them(liquid and creame), sandpaper, and alot of patience. If you have never worked with these materials before read the directions for mixing them and apply small amounts of filler after resining the inside and outside of the piece. You want to try to keep your filler somewhat flat and even on the piece your working on to minimise the amount of sanding you need to do. I myself use a mesh sandpaper made for sanding drywall. This helps keep the paper from getting caked up too quickly and works very well with a small viberating palm sander. Make sure you only apply the figerglass to the inside of your piece as you dont want to have to sand it very much. The amount of glass you use will be up to you as far as how strong you want it to be in the end. The thicker the glass the stronger it will be but also the heavier it will be. I use a combination of cloth and matt glass but mainly I use the matt as this helps you get a higher amount of glass built up without all the applications necessary with the cloth to get it strong. You will also need some plastic cups of some type for mixing of resin as well as some cheap brushes for applying the resin. I use mixing cups made by 3M for paint mixing that I picked up at a local car sawp meet. They were about 30 cents each and have divisions marked on them for measuring and ratios. For brushes I use cheap brushes that are typically called acid brushes. These have a metal tube shaped handle and horsehair bristels. When working with the glass and resin where rubber gloves like vinyl or latex type like for medical proceedures and be sure to precut your glass into small pieces of varying sizes depending on the piece your working on. Wet the surface of the part liberally with some resin and place the glass into the resin and then DABB the glass untill it is pressed frimly into place and it becomes a dark uniform color. This means you have worked the resin into the glass and have as much air out of it as you can get. The more saturated and firmly pressed the glass is the stronger it will be and better it will adhear to the part. Try to keep the drips on the outer surface to a minimum as well to help later when it comes time to shape the outside surface. When working with the resin I usually only mix about 4 ounces per time to try to keep waste down. When you are finished using one cup let it harden and you can re-use the cup by flexing the outside all the way around it and you can then pop out the old resin to have a nice clean cup again. I leave my old brush in the cup also to help get the resin out later as well. I got my brushes from Harbor Frieght Tools and they come in a bag of about 20 or so for about $2.50. Make sure you have cardboard layed out under your work when working with resin for easy clean up. As always make sure you work in a well ventilated are and use a resperator to lessen the amount of fumes you inhale. I hope this helps you get started at least but look at some of the videos for tips on techniques for applying the filler and glass ect. You will get better with practice just like anything else. Later, Gforce598

wow, thanks!! (reading)

 

[Gforce598]

Not a problem happy to help and maybe it will help someone else as well.

 

[hubjubjub]

Don't ever do the outside of the helm, only the inside. It's harder, but fiberglass is so strong that it will screw up your detail. You only need to fo the inside. Remember to wear gloves. I learned this the hard way, I got (and still have) many splinters from the glass. So what u do is put resin in whatever part wanted to fiberglass. After that, while the resin is still dry, lay in the sheets of fiber glass. Only one sheet thick for each section of the interior u harden. No need to do layers. So back to the fiberglassing, while everything is still wet, dab on some more resin onto the sheet if glass.then u do this to the rest of the helm.
The end result will shock you as the fiberglass is super strong and makes the helmet airsoft BB resistant! That's pretty strong.
Hope I didn't bore you to death, enjoy!

 

[Zombhs]

Dude... No just no. One layer of fibreglass doesn't make your helmet airsoft resistant. Several layers might, but one definately won't. You're suppose to do multiple layers from what I've heard.

 

[Filurix]

Just finished reading the last page now, and I'm a bit overwhelmed with all the info one can find here. Kudos!

 

[SPRTNBD50]

If I resin *cardboard, do I need to fiberglass it?

 

[ventrue]

If I resin *cardboard, do I need to fiberglass it?

Yes.

Those few resin layers you are putting on there aren't supposed to make it survive you wearing it, they are just supposed to make it survive glassing, rondoing or whatever you are going to do to actually harden it.
You could start glassing right away in theory, but the chances are higher that the model will either deform or that you even rip it apart just by handling it.

 

[lornesbored]

there is proper 'bondo' that you can use to help minimize damage on helmets and what not. It's a flexible plastic filler thats used when you weld plastic bumpers on vehicles back together, you add this filler to give the strength back and to sculpt and mold body lines if need be. There are 2 types, one for rigid plastics, and one for flexible plastic applications. It's made by 3M. I used to use it when a bumper came in that was ripped in half to fix

 

[Nick421121]

I resined and fiber glassed my helmet. Its been a few days and it still smells awful. How can I get rid of the smell and is the resin still toxic to breath while dry?

 

[Gforce598]

The smell will deminish over time and no the smell is not toxic after the resin has cured.

 

[Nick421121]

The smell will deminish over time and no the smell is not toxic after the resin has cured.

So just to be sure, once the resin is completely dry, I can wear the helmet and the smell isn't going to cuase any of the health issues labeled from the fumes?