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

[NeoKeth]

But not every one can use it like kids or those without a work space or even people who have a tight budget, I want to try and find a way to build armor sets without resin and all the safety equipment needed. Plus there's all those people who just don't want to go through the hassle of it. I just want to find a good alternative, so I'm doing a bit of testing with it.

When I say this, know that I am not in any way trying to discourage you. If you are not prepared to spend a little money, say at least $100 total if you start from scratch with no materials and no tools or safety equipment, you may want to find a different hobby. It's not that we are so prideful in our work that we don't allow other forms, it's more that we want you to be proud of it as well. And in the end if you get it to hold while you put the finished suit on and you walk down the street and you get say 3 blocks away and it starts to tear or break it all boils down to one question: After knowing you took a shortcut to save a little money and a lot of time when it really wasn't all that too expensive given the fact that you can spread the project out over several months, will you still be proud to put on a broken suit?
If you answered no, then perhaps you should be willing to use those products in a safe environment. If you have at least a 6ftx6ft area outside to work in then you have a place to work. After that, all you need is a respirator, and those are fairly inexpensive. I would not suggest you use paper mache. There are models out there, if you take the time to look, that are made completely out of cardboard or foam. Perhaps you could start with those. Paper Mache simply will not do the job.

 

[Starvinartist80]

I am quickly approaching the hardening stage and I've read around on how to use rondo and fiberglass, but I was wondering in your opinions.

Which is less time consuming/ easier to work with?

Which is stronger?

Which is better in the long run?

I have the materials to do both but I don't know what to pick as both methods seem to have their positives and negatives, so I'm wondering what you guys think.

I do want to add one bit to what CoolC said. First off everything he did say is spot on. One additional note however is that there is a middle ground between standard Rondo (bondo mixed with resin) and Fiberglass. If you replace standard Bondo body filler with BondoGlass filler you will see a dramatic increase in strength. The bondoglass incorporates glass fibers into the body fill to increase its structural integrity. The resulting Rondo mixture is almost as strong as Fiberglass but is as easy to apply as standard Rondo. Now as with everything it does have a draw back. The main drawback of bondoglass is that it will take a bit more material to cover the same area because the glass fibers create a stonger bond.

 

[Tyefighter1]

Nevertheless I am going to continue working on this, I had success on making a good pulp that didn't bend when dried. It might need some wire or something to help keep it from warping while it dries, but it looks promising. I am only attempting to make a solid method to use paper mache for the people that want to use it. Thanks for all the very discouraging comments though! But I am still gonna try!

 

[Roadkiller]

... at least $100 total if you start from scratch with no materials and no tools or safety equipment, you may want to find a different hobby...

$100? You're kidding right? Including tools?

I suppose you could get the fibreglass, resin, autobody filler, paper and a respirator for $100. On sale.

I don't want to start an arguement, but these sorts of estimates are why NOOBs come here looking to buy helmets for $20 (or give a sob story and hope someone will give them one).

 

[CoolC]

$100? You're kidding right? Including tools?

I suppose you could get the fibreglass, resin, autobody filler, paper and a respirator for $100. On sale.

I don't want to start an arguement, but these sorts of estimates are why NOOBs come here looking to buy helmets for $20 (or give a sob story and hope someone will give them one).

NeoKeth did say "at least". If you do some search, you could get something within that range "to start", excluding tools. Once you started building, you will realize that you need to buy more materials. At Harbor Tools you can get a good respirator around $15. Add some a palm sander, some sand paper, paint. I spend around $300 to make two suits last year. I think I will spend more than $300 this year. I think $300 is a good number.

 

[Roadkiller]

I agree, anyone starting would need $300 to lay out for materials, be able to buy in bulk (I should have done that) and keep their eyes out for sales.

Here is what I used to create 1 adult large sized Mk VI and what it cost in Canada. (US dollar currently worth less than Candian dollar, but things are usually cheaper south of the border, so it may balance out) I believe it is useful to estimate the complete cost as many people forget to calculate things like printer ink, strapping, etc.

Pepakura Designer - $35
Respirator - $30 (DON'T SKIP OR SKIMP ON THIS!)
1 pack of Bondo Plastic Spreaders - $3.
2 tubes of Glazing Putty (one small, one large) - $15
4 packs of 8 foot square fibreglass cloth - $40
3.7 lt can of fibreglass resin - $50
4 cans of body filler (Bondo) - $40
1 pack of 110 lb card stock - $10
1 tube of elmers craft glue - $5
Refill ink for the ink-jet printer I was using - $40
2 cans of good quality spray primer - $12
2 cans of hammered aluminum spray paint - $16
2 cans of satin oregano spray paint - $16
1 can of flat black rust paint - $5
A lot of sandpaper – call it $20
A lot of paint brushes from the dollar store – call it $15
1 tube of epoxy glue - $7
1 memory foam mattress topper - $20 (on sale at Walmart)
1 can of spray adhesive - $10 (for glueing the foam padding)
Top and bottom UnderArmour knock-offs available at Walmart for $13 each, total of $26. Everyone will need at least a long sleeved T-shirt and a pair of pants.
I had suitable footwear, but comfortable boots that were similar can be had at a local surplus store for $30.
I used cheap motorcycle gloves, $14. (A later upgrade to better looking 'tactical' style gloves cost me $20)
The visor, from any number of sources, is going to round out at at about $20 (including shipping).
Polypropylene strapping, buckles, “hook and loop” fastener (Velcro), a cheap backpack, in other words "strapping stuff", call it a total of $30.

The grand total supplies that everyone will have to buy and use – call it $400

I also had to purchase the following equipment to perform the work, you may have some of this stuff or may not want it:

2 packs of latex gloves - $20
1 roll of shop towels - $3
1 rotary tool (dremel ) - $15 (it was on sale).
1 mouse type sander - $50 (it wasn't on sale).
Hobby knife kit - $10
Assorted files in a kit - $12
Hot glue gun and glue sticks - the gun cost me $5, and the glue is so useful I used it for a lot of stuff, about $20 in total for the build.

Total invested – call it $500. This is really a RAG (Rough Assed Guess) as I no doubt forgot something in my accounting.

 

[ufireball]

hi guys im very new to this (is i gusse im a noob) iv seen and read many tutorials on how to do halo armour and im starting to do the paper craft bit
but most of the tutorial are difrent like some people use fiber galss resin instead of fiber glass and others use bondo
can u go through the setps of um... what ever this step is called(supporting the armour?) and rate it on how good you think it was
also can you list what type of materials you uesed and the cost


thanx ufireball

 

[Phoenixx]

Hi guys, i am kind of new here and i just started a helmet however i forgot to down scale it so now i have a half built helmet that is massive! Any tips on how to scale down a piece would be great, cheers

 

[rasendori04]

hey everyone, so I, as many people are, am new to the fiberglass/ resin part of armor building and am working on my body armor right now. I am making a new body because the first one didn't turn out too good. I have been thinking about cutting the side straps of the armor to make life somewhat easier when fiberglassing it. Is this a good idea and can I have some tips on fiberglassing spartan body armor?

 

[ventrue]

hi guys im very new to this (is i gusse im a noob) iv seen and read many tutorials on how to do halo armour and im starting to do the paper craft bit
but most of the tutorial are difrent like some people use fiber galss resin instead of fiber glass and others use bondo
can u go through the setps of um... what ever this step is called(supporting the armour?) and rate it on how good you think it was
also can you list what type of materials you uesed and the cost

Roadwarrior posted a big list full of prices right before you. There's also a sticky about the topic. I don't get how you can possibly not see all that.

The step you're talking about is usually called "hardening" and there are several ways to do it, which might explain your confusion. Nobody uses Bondo alone for it because Bondo alone won't work. Maybe you're confusing it with Rondo, which contains Bondo. Fibreglass alone won't work either, because it's similar to textile and neither hard nor sticky. You need some sort of resin to go along with it, but not necessarily polyester resin (often called "fibreglass resin"). Fibreglass and "fibreglass resin" are not interchangeable products.

Try to go backwards in this thread, sooner or later you'll find a list of steps for fibreglassing. Again, there are stickies about that topic as well. About Rondo, too. And about a lot of other methods.

Hi guys, i am kind of new here and i just started a helmet however i forgot to down scale it so now i have a half built helmet that is massive! Any tips on how to scale down a piece would be great, cheers

Read this: http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/31627-HaloGoddess-quot-How-To-Scale-quot-and-More-Tutorial

You'll have to trash your current model, I'm afraid, but write down the measurements for comparison with the new ones.

hey everyone, so I, as many people are, am new to the fiberglass/ resin part of armor building and am working on my body armor right now. I am making a new body because the first one didn't turn out too good. I have been thinking about cutting the side straps of the armor to make life somewhat easier when fiberglassing it. Is this a good idea and can I have some tips on fiberglassing spartan body armor?

Keep it in one piece until it's hard, otherwise there's a chance that the two halves warp independently of each other and won't fit together anymore at the end.

Fibreglassing chest pieces works pretty much the same way as fibreglassing anything else. Go through the stickies and back in this thread, you'll find all sorts of helpful tips.

 

[CoolC]

hi guys im very new to this (is i gusse im a noob) iv seen and read many tutorials on how to do halo armour and im starting to do the paper craft bit
but most of the tutorial are difrent like some people use fiber galss resin instead of fiber glass and others use bondo
can u go through the setps of um... what ever this step is called(supporting the armour?) and rate it on how good you think it was
also can you list what type of materials you uesed and the cost


thanx ufireball

I don't mean to be rude, these questions were clearly answered in earlier post. See my comparison on these materials here: http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/26849-quot-Help!-quot-for-Fiberglassing-Resin-amp-Bondo/page82

And as for the cost, Roadkiller clearly lists all the material above. Please read before you post!

Hi guys, i am kind of new here and i just started a helmet however i forgot to down scale it so now i have a half built helmet that is massive! Any tips on how to scale down a piece would be great, cheers

There are some stickies on how to scale the pepakura. I recommend that you go through the stickies first. Here is one for you to start.
http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/31627-HaloGoddess-quot-How-To-Scale-quot-and-More-Tutorial

 

[ufireball]

well i dont know if youv noitced but there are 84 pages and i dont realy wann a read through that all thanx though

 

[CoolC]

well i dont know if youv noitced but there are 84 pages and i dont realy wann a read through that all thanx though

Yes we noticed. 405th has been around for years and it collects tons of materials (useful and not useful). It also contains knowledge that you cannot find anywhere else. The answers Ventrue and I gave you were posts right above yours - we are not asking you to read every page.

However, to really understand how to build an armor, you need to read. You can do a search if you don't want to read. Anytime you ask questions that have already been answered, you will likely get 3 responses: 1) No one will answer you because the answers are already been answered 2) you will be directed to the stickies for more reading 3) Someone who is really nice by answering you in details.

I suggest that you scan (if you don't want to read) the stickies first. A good place to start is here:
http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/30542-NOOB-reading-list

 

[Spitfire22V]

well i dont know if youv noitced but there are 84 pages and i dont realy wann a read through that all thanx though

Just a friendly tip, it's highly recommended that you DO read as much as possible because that is how you will learn quicker and easier. We're not here to spoon feed you the information or hand it on a silver platter. A little effort and work is required on your part.

The most successful noobs for Halo armor making are the ones that spent days if not weeks reading, giving it a shot themselves, and only then beginning to post on the forums.

 

[Roadkiller]

I hate to pile on here, but just wanted to share the best descriptions of the 405th that I have heard:

This website is a library, somewhere within it is everything you need to know to make your costume.
There is no librarian.
There are other people who can help you find the book you are looking for, but they will not read it to you.
It is not a classroom where someone stands up and tells you how to do something.
It is not a flea market.

It is a bunch of people sharing tips, discovering new methods of doing things, and showing what they have created for peer review.

 

[Starvinartist80]

I hate to pile on here, but just wanted to share the best descriptions of the 405th that I have heard:

This website is a library, somewhere within it is everything you need to know to make your costume.
There is no librarian.
There are other people who can help you find the book you are looking for, but they will not read it to you.
It is not a classroom where someone stands up and tells you how to do something.
It is not a flea market.

It is a bunch of people sharing tips, discovering new methods of doing things, and showing what they have created for peer review.

I absolutely love this description. Perfect way to put it.

 

[ufireball]

k thanx XD
i mean iv read through alto but teh i was like geeez 84 0,0 cba

 

[ufireball]

sigh after watching that vid (thanx as well) it seems iv burst into a room with out intro ducing my self and this is gunna be a TON of work (the armour that it) but it will be worth it
looks like i betta start afresh

hello im you fireball
im a noob
im form england
i got alot of halo games and i love forge
i concider my self creative
i am very bad at spelling
and i hope i can have fun making learning and giving tips i may soon find
i found out about this halo armour making when browsing youtube and came across indymogual and there many things and then came across halo armour making
(tick off the list, next cusomize my profile)

 

[jubjub1231]

I just got started model making and i plan on making my own suit like Jun's armor but with a different color scheme.

My question is if while you letting resin cure would it be alright to set up a kerosine heater to help the resin cure a little faster as long as you have proper ventilation for it?

P.s. I apoligize for any grammer errors/ miss-use of terminology, i am very very new.

 

[CoolC]

I just got started model making and i plan on making my own suit like Jun's armor but with a different color scheme.

My question is if while you letting resin cure would it be alright to set up a kerosine heater to help the resin cure a little faster as long as you have proper ventilation for it?

P.s. I apoligize for any grammer errors/ miss-use of terminology, i am very very new.

I'm not sure where you live that you need to speed up the curing process. If you really need to I suggest that you try this.
http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/29900-how-to-make-a-hotbox-for-30?highlight=hotbox

If you are not in a hurry, you can try to put a little more hardener in the resin. This will speed up the curing process. Regardless which method, some resin requires 24 hours to fully cured. With hotbox you may speed up the curing process by a few hours.