I'd stick with the mask if you have one.
But let me just clear one thing up: I was under the impression that you are afraid of the fumes. Is it that, or would you have trouble breathing through a mask with the increased resistance from the filters?
"Help!" for: Fiberglassing, Resin, & Bondo
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I'd stick with the mask if you have one.
But let me just clear one thing up: I was under the impression that you are afraid of the fumes. Is it that, or would you have trouble breathing through a mask with the increased resistance from the filters?
quick question(s) guys. I just finished my 1st pep helm (war machine - size tester) and it turned out fairly well. The thing is, i noticed a lot of the parts, especially around the back of the head/neck areas, a lot of the pieces did not have any tabs. Instead of leaving the cutouts unattached to anything, I simply stuck tiny pieces of scotch tape to hold the pieces together while still giving the helm enough flexibility for me to try the helm on etc without it falling apart. Even tho it is only the tester/low quality version of the helm, I still want to go ahead with all the steps just to get a grasp on things before I do the high-def files.
My question is, will I run into any troubles resoning the helm with those tape pieces? will it be sturdy enough afterwards or should I look for another alternative before I start to resin? and if so, what can I do to hold the non-tabbed pieces together?
My question is, will I run into any troubles resoning the helm with those tape pieces? will it be sturdy enough afterwards or should I look for another alternative before I start to resin? and if so, what can I do to hold the non-tabbed pieces together?
The resin is probably going to melt the tape. Depending on how much tape is holding the thing together (if it's in a few spots, you're probably okay), you might get away with resining it.
The hardest part of learning the process is the pepping and resining. Even if your helmet melts, you still have gained experience on how to do it, and your next helmet will turn out much better because of it.
Are you sure you cut out the pieces right? I don't know of any pep files that don't have the tabs for assembly.
thatwrestler189
New Member
Help! Fiberglass
I've heard several opinions on this but I was just wondering if you are supposed to put down a layer of resign then lay the fiberglass down or do you put the fiberglass then resign it? I'm working on my first build and I want to get it right. I already spent my Friday putting together the pep helmet only to find out it was way too small. I don't want to mess up again.
I've heard several opinions on this but I was just wondering if you are supposed to put down a layer of resign then lay the fiberglass down or do you put the fiberglass then resign it? I'm working on my first build and I want to get it right. I already spent my Friday putting together the pep helmet only to find out it was way too small. I don't want to mess up again.
aquaresin, hotglue method. You could also just pour Smoothcast into your pep pieces after they have been hardened on the outside. I used this method on my daughters pieces, and it worked out great. It is faster than using fiberglass and won't destroy your body. Stealth has a video of a method involving Smoothcast 321 on outside with Smoothcast 320 on inside.
becks
Active Member
Resin the outside of you piece to make sure that it maintains its strength and prevents warpage, then on the inside you fiberglass or rondo to continue the strengthening and hardening process. There's video's on the forum with walkthroughs, be sure to check them out and read the stickies.
After you get the helm the right size and resin the outside to keep the form you HAVE to put resin on the inside for the fiberglass to stick to. Spread some resin in the area you are working in and lay the fiberglass in it, then with a brush with some more resin on it TAP the fiberglass into place. If you brush the glass into place you run the risk of moving it or pulling the fiberglass apart. Just continue that until the inside of what ever your working on is covered. And you'll also need to do at least 3 layers to get it strong enough to wear. If you plan on molding it you might be able to get away with one layer. Also be prepared to spend the better part of a day doing the fiberglass and have lots of brushes handy. Every time you make a new batch of resin you need a new brush. An alternative to fiberglass for small parts like helms,shins,forearms, and such is rondo(resin and bondo mixed) and slush cast. Ben Streeper did a hole line of vids showing how to do it. You can find them on here and on youtube.
Q. Haven't opened my resin can yet, but it seems to still be spewing fumes into the porch (not cool when the girl living upstairs to us has a baby). So, I was wondering if it is ok for me to leave it outside in the shed until I start using. I live in Ontario and it is starting to get pretty chilly out. Dont want to ruin the stuff before I get to use it. I'd imagine it is fine, tho just making sure.
Resin should be stored cool and dry.
hey guys
can i ask something i need a substitute for fiberglass last time i use it i got a major rash and was not pretty so I am giving up on fiberglass
hot glue i tried didnt really work to well as i use a glue gun to stick my stuff together
smooth cast 321 i cant get in South Africa and they dont sell sample kits so i cant play and test, as i have to buy a 1kg pack for around R200 - R300
so in sort could people give me the names of the stuff you use instead of fiber glass and smooth cast
i can get smooth cast 300 < don't know if it will work and it doesn't bond to itself
Regards Byron
can i ask something i need a substitute for fiberglass last time i use it i got a major rash and was not pretty so I am giving up on fiberglass
hot glue i tried didnt really work to well as i use a glue gun to stick my stuff together
smooth cast 321 i cant get in South Africa and they dont sell sample kits so i cant play and test, as i have to buy a 1kg pack for around R200 - R300
so in sort could people give me the names of the stuff you use instead of fiber glass and smooth cast
i can get smooth cast 300 < don't know if it will work and it doesn't bond to itself
Regards Byron
That was probably due to glass dust. I hope you had a dust mask on, just imagine what those particles do to your lungs. Anyways, you should talk to a doctor about that, just to be safe.
You can either try to go with glass fibres again and protect yourself this time (gloves, suit), or you can try a different type of fibre, like carbon (careful, conductive, dust can short out electronics!) or aramide (special cutting tools needed). The downside to that is that they are all pretty expensive, and I'm not even sure if they are less "dusty" when cut. You can also leave them out altogether and just go with pure resin or rondo, but that's not going to have the same strength per thickness.
Roadkiller
Well-Known Member
Cotton, in the form of an old T-shirt, can also be used as the strengthening medium. Use the resin as usual but use cotton strips instead of fibreglass ones.
The complete item won't be as strong as fibreglass and resin, but still far tougher than resin by itself.
My first instrinct was to slap you for writing nonsense - but I've looked it up and you're actually right. That does work.
If you have ABS/plastic armor and get tears, tshirts also work awesomely to repair them in conjunction with CA super glue. A veritable "poor man's" fiberglass and I can attest it works. I wouldn't try to use it on the outside of armor though as the superglue will not sand well. Interesting to see resin would work with a shirt as well. I may have to try that just to see how strong it is.
OK, dumb thought off the top of my head:
Once you have a part that's resined on the outside and rondoed on the inside... and its time for sanding the outside.... has anybody tried / would anybody recommend using one of those "mouse sanders" to help speed things up (or maybe some sort of sanding discs that you put onto the end of a drill) ??
I'm quickly reaching the point where I'm going to have a lot of parts that will need such sanding. And time is an issue (need to have whole costume finished by the 23rd of this month).
Once you have a part that's resined on the outside and rondoed on the inside... and its time for sanding the outside.... has anybody tried / would anybody recommend using one of those "mouse sanders" to help speed things up (or maybe some sort of sanding discs that you put onto the end of a drill) ??
I'm quickly reaching the point where I'm going to have a lot of parts that will need such sanding. And time is an issue (need to have whole costume finished by the 23rd of this month).
A mouse sander is almost a necessity for sanding bondo. For the smaller places, sanding disks for the dremel work great. But there are a few spots where you can only get to it by hand.
Use VERY course grit for the initial sand, to get it almost-smooth, and then use 100-300 grit for the final smooth. I use 40 grit and it sands pretty fast. Just be sure to wear a dust mask because you will be engulfed in a cloud of dust.
There is a very helpful section in the forum that gives us brits all the alternatives for materials over here.
Hope it helps.
http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/10422-Uk-Product-Variants
Hello! Pretty new to the 405th but glad to be here. I had one question about the resin process that was partially answered in one of the above posts. I have recently made my pep helm except I used scotch tape on the inside of the helm to secure the whole thing. I read in the earlier post that it will eat the tape. Is there any kind of sealer like Gesso or Modge Podge that can be put on the outside and in before resining it that will allow it not to eat the tape? Oh and I left the visor part of the helm empty because I figured I'd have to cut it out in the end, is that ok? Thanks for helping me with my problems and I hope to hear from everyone soon!
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