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

[iTzOminousTic]

Ok so with my daft punk helmet I got it pretty much sanded down and was wondering if I can apply spray paint on it just to make it look better. Is that ok? Also does it have to be primer or a specific kind of spray paint? Or can it be whatever kind? This won't be the final layer of paint or anything cuz there's still a little bit of sanding to be down but I figured that painting it makes it look smooth and you can look for the imperfections.

 

[Dani Girl]

What were your exact steps?

did it go like this?

1) resin outside
2) fiberglass/rondo inside (repeat this step if you feel its not thick enough)
3) Sand (sand until you literally go through the paper layer to the FBG/Rondo layer
4) Bondo outside (to shape) - you don't coat the entire helmet
5) Sand until you get the shape
6) Sand some more until you get it smooth
7) Bondo more to fix the shape and fill in pits
8) Sand until you get the shape and smooth


No pictures were in your post.

Hey everybody! This is my first post on here and i just had some questions i needed answered about the basics. I finished a Mk V

helmet from pep files and then resined the outside. After it was dry i added a layer of bondo and it turned out it was too thick and completely destroyed the look of the helmet. Even after constant sanding with low grit sandpaper i still could not get it to look good. I had to trash it and start a new helmet. This time instead if bondo i used a 1oz fiberglass roll along with my resin. This added strength to my helmet and did not destroy the detail in any way. I had some painting problems after that and well.. it looked like this -.-. My question is this: Can anyone tell me how the get their helmets to look flat with bondo? Is it just applied in very thin layers? And exactly how do you apply weathering affects to your armor? Thanks! Below is a picture of my second Mk V helmet. I guess it looks okay for a costuming noob. Somebody comment on my work so far!

 

[iTzOminousTic]

What were your exact steps?

did it go like this?

1) resin outside
2) fiberglass/rondo inside (repeat this step if you feel its not thick enough)
3) Sand (sand until you literally go through the paper layer to the FBG/Rondo layer
4) Bondo outside (to shape) - you don't coat the entire helmet
5) Sand until you get the shape
6) Sand some more until you get it smooth
7) Bondo more to fix the shape and fill in pits
8) Sand until you get the shape and smooth


No pictures were in your post.

I didn't really do step 3
I pretty much skipped step 3, This was when I applied my very 1st layer of bondo:

but I'm now like at steps 7 & 8.
Here's a pic of my helmet right now. The picture makes it look super ugly and its not as bad as it looks in the picture. :/
Still need to fill in some holes and smooth it out a bit more.

I was planning on primering it or just spray painting it with whatever type of paint (if thats ok) so I can see what to work on next. (Holes and what not)

 

[Darkrider9]

For me, I resin the outside 2x, resin the inside, fiber glass/resin x 3, then rondo. Yeah a lot, but after seeing five foot pieces break on me just from walking in the armor, I upped the layer of fiberglass to three and it seems to be sturdy now.
Okay, I'll probably do 1 layer of rondo and 2 full layers of fiberglass, then one touch up layer.


Bondo is heavy to begin with. If your thigh piece is 5lbs, you have way too much rondo on there. Dont know what you can do, except to sand it down all the way and do fiberglass layers instead.
After thinking this over a bit, I think there was a bit of a misunderstanding. I'm going to sand it down, because it still is a bit heavy, but I wasn't talking about a spartan thigh, I was talking about a T45-d power armor thigh, which is like triple the size, that is probably why you thought it was way to heavy.


It mean that your hardener for your bondo wasn't mixed well (and if you added hardener from the resin, that didn't mix well too). I have a piece I did back in August of Last year and its still tacky. The only thing you can do is put a layer of resin over it, and make sure you let it cure.
I started mixing my rondo for like 30 seconds more and this problem was fixed. However the sticky pieces will be getting 3 layers of fiberglass over them, so there will beno stickiness coming through.

Thanks for all of the help thus far!

 

[CoolC]

I was planning on primering it or just spray painting it with whatever type of paint (if thats ok) so I can see what to work on next. (Holes and what not)

Not bad on the sanding part. It seems that you still have a long way to go. I hate helmets that are so curved. You can never get the shape right.

You can use auto primer from hardware store. I prefer the gray primer because it highlights any holes that you cannot see with naked eyes. Any color from spray can will work. If you are skilled enough, try air-brushing. You get better control and colors.

If I were you I'm more concerned how to get the visor done. The only way to do that is to vacuform it. Even that you will have a hard time to get it right because it curves almost 3/4 of head.

Good luck.

 

[iTzOminousTic]

Not bad on the sanding part. It seems that you still have a long way to go. I hate helmets that are so curved. You can never get the shape right.

You can use auto primer from hardware store. I prefer the gray primer because it highlights any holes that you cannot see with naked eyes. Any color from spray can will work. If you are skilled enough, try air-brushing. You get better control and colors.

If I were you I'm more concerned how to get the visor done. The only way to do that is to vacuform it. Even that you will have a hard time to get it right because it curves almost 3/4 of head.

Good luck.

Thanx for the tips and yeah I was planning on building a vacuum former today actually. Lol. The visor has the shape already I just want to make sure there's no holes and whatnot. I'm more worried about the Visor than the rest of the helmet right now because its the most essential part of the whole freakin helmet so that's probably why the sides look like crap right now.

So I don't HAVE to use Primer? I can use whatever type of spraypaint I want right?

 

[WRTHG]

Thats weird that there are no pictures. I see them on my laptop it may be an error or something. The only step i dont do is step 3. I just bondo the outer surface. Though looking at iTzOminousTic's helmet i see that i may have done waaaay to much bondo and ruined i that way.

 

[WRTHG]

Here is a picture of the Mk V helmet thats been pasted into this post. Tell me if you can see this one.

https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&...&th=1313b301c989bae2&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw

Can anyone tell me how i could improve on the next version and how this one looks?
Thanks!

 

[CoolC]

Here is a picture of the Mk V helmet thats been pasted into this post. Tell me if you can see this one.

https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&...&th=1313b301c989bae2&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw

Can anyone tell me how i could improve on the next version and how this one looks?
Thanks!

No one can access your mail server. Try to upload your photo to PhotoBucket. It's free. Once you have uploaded it, you can attach the photo here through a link.

Here is a tutorial:
http://www.405th.com/showthread.php...n-your-threads?highlight=photobucket+tutorial

 

[GandaKris]

Im really new to this armor making process and plan to cosplay the video game version of black rock shooter. I was wondering after sanding down the resin whats the best and safest way to dispose of the resin particles?

 

[iTzOminousTic]

Thanx for the tips and yeah I was planning on building a vacuum former today actually. Lol. The visor has the shape already I just want to make sure there's no holes and whatnot. I'm more worried about the Visor than the rest of the helmet right now because its the most essential part of the whole freakin helmet so that's probably why the sides look like crap right now.

So I don't HAVE to use Primer? I can use whatever type of spraypaint I want right?

Anyone know? Lol

 

[CoolC]

Anyone know? Lol

I believe I answered that in my previous post.

You can use auto primer from hardware store. I prefer the gray primer because it highlights any holes that you cannot see with naked eyes. Any color from spray can will work. If you are skilled enough, try air-brushing. You get better control and colors.

I suggest that you use a primer. That will help you in finishing the helmet. Any other spraypwint will work.

 

[Darkrider9]

As for the chest piece. Can I apply one layer of rondo and then cut it, then fiberglass each half? It seems it would be much easier to fiberglass each half rather than one large enclosed space.

 

[angel62sir]

hey all, i've come up against a problem with my fibreglassing, i've recently bought new supplies of glass and it doesn't seem to behave the same as the last three tins i've had. Does anyone have any thoughts on what could be going wrong.

 

[Darkrider9]

hey all, i've come up against a problem with my fibreglassing, i've recently bought new supplies of glass and it doesn't seem to behave the same as the last three tins i've had. Does anyone have any thoughts on what could be going wrong.

Could be a bad can with a faulty product inside. Could you explain more about what was odd about it?

 

[ventrue]

Im really new to this armor making process and plan to cosplay the video game version of black rock shooter. I was wondering after sanding down the resin whats the best and safest way to dispose of the resin particles?

Broom. Vacuum cleaner. Wet towel. The possibilities are endless - the particles are chemically inert and no more dangerous than any other dust, so there are no special requirements for getting rid of it.

As for the chest piece. Can I apply one layer of rondo and then cut it, then fiberglass each half? It seems it would be much easier to fiberglass each half rather than one large enclosed space.

Sure, but that doesn't completely remove the possibility that the parts warp. Why don'T you just get some chopped fibres and add those to your Rondo? That should be strong enough after one layer and you can skip the glassing entirely.

hey all, i've come up against a problem with my fibreglassing, i've recently bought new supplies of glass and it doesn't seem to behave the same as the last three tins i've had. Does anyone have any thoughts on what could be going wrong.

Might be old. But please do elaborate what's wrong.

Also, you're not talking about "glass", you're talking about some sort of resin. Glass isn't liquid and doesn't come in cans.

 

[Darkrider9]

So ventrue, like take loose stands from the cloth and throw it in there? I was thinking of doing that before, but thought it wouldn't work.

As for sanding:

I sanded a bit today, and it was pretty easy to sand down, I don't know why everyone hates it so much. Anyways when I was done I had bondo dust all over me and I was wondering what I should do next time to minimize my exposure to the dust without my respirator on. When I came in I changed my clothes and washed my hands and arms but I still smell it a bit and I can almost feel bits of dust going in my nose, even though none is visible on me. Am I being paranoid about my safety or is there something I should do to clean myself after a hard days sanding?

Also, how dangerous is this dust, I feel like if I breathe it for 5 minutes I'll get cancer.

 

[WRTHG]

Thanks for the link for the Photobucket tutorial. Now i have an IMG code to paste here. So with my previous questions in mind here is the image of my second try at the Mk V helmet.

 

[ventrue]

So ventrue, like take loose stands from the cloth and throw it in there? I was thinking of doing that before, but thought it wouldn't work.

Yep. But buy them in a bag for better results.

I sanded a bit today, and it was pretty easy to sand down, I don't know why everyone hates it so much. Anyways when I was done I had bondo dust all over me and I was wondering what I should do next time to minimize my exposure to the dust without my respirator on. When I came in I changed my clothes and washed my hands and arms but I still smell it a bit and I can almost feel bits of dust going in my nose, even though none is visible on me. Am I being paranoid about my safety or is there something I should do to clean myself after a hard days sanding?

Also, how dangerous is this dust, I feel like if I breathe it for 5 minutes I'll get cancer.

Once the resin is cured, the dust is chemically inert and no more dangerous than any other dust. But normal dust still isn't something you should breathe in. Wear tight safety glasses and a respirator with dust filters. Afterwards, just take a shower.

 

[Darkrider9]

Yep. But buy them in a bag for better results.

Once the resin is cured, the dust is chemically inert and no more dangerous than any other dust. But normal dust still isn't something you should breathe in. Wear tight safety glasses and a respirator with dust filters. Afterwards, just take a shower.

What about Bondo dust?

As for the first part, by "in a bag" do you mean buy the little packs of fiberglass that come in the baggies for 5 bucks?