"Help!" for: Fiberglassing, Resin, & Bondo
- Thread starter 23Magnum
- Start date
- Status
iTzOminousTic
Jr Member
LMFAO. Really? xD Damn. I live up here in North Las Vegas. Lol.
Did you apply the resin today? If so, Bad idea with all this "rain" (If you can call it that), Wind, and clouds. xD
That's sick though. I would of never guessed that your from Vegas. xD
You put the catalyst INTO the resin (this includes thorough mixing afterwards!), not ON it. Aside from that, it depends on your particular product whether it should or shouldn't still be sticky after that amount of time. Some resins just take that long.
Read the stickies. There's nothing else anyone can reply here, because your question is too broad.
There isn't any. Everyone of them does the same thing. It is just a matter of preference.
Please read the stickies in the noob forum to have a better understanding of building an armor. Unless you are at the stage of hardening your armor, knowing which resin is a moot point.
Well actually, there are a couple different types of resin, i.e polyurethane, epoxy, and maybe UV cure, though I'm not sure which category that falls into.
@Kaykat Like CoolC said, reading the stickies will be your best bet. All the information you will need is on these forums, it's just a matter of looking for it. A good place to start would be http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/30542-NOOB-reading-list Roadkiller did a very fine job of compiling an introductory list with all the basics you need to start out. If you still have some questions after that feel free to PM me and I'll do what I can to answer them.
Digitalist
New Member
So once again, I've spent wayyyy too much time combing through the previous posts in the thread in hopes of finding a relevant answer, so sorry if it's been covered. I'm in an area of the country where I can't readily find a fiberglass supplies retailer close by so I'm having to order materials online. That being said, I have a couple of questions.
First - Online Suppliers - Anyone got one, preferably in or near Texas (for faster shipping), that they have had great experiences with and would recommend?
Second - Amounts - I'm looking for an estimate of cloth yardage and pints of resin. It would be very nice if I don't have to place a secondary order and have to wait for a couple of weeks to finish the last half of the helmet.
All of the measurements I'm looking for are to finish out an Ironman Mark IV helmet. Oh, and if the default size is a medium, I've resized mine up to a XXL just for good measure - what can I say, got a big head.
(and I wanted to make sure I have plenty of room inside for fans and electronics)
So gimme some answers with the quickness so I can get the orders in!!!
thanks ahead of time!
First - Online Suppliers - Anyone got one, preferably in or near Texas (for faster shipping), that they have had great experiences with and would recommend?
Second - Amounts - I'm looking for an estimate of cloth yardage and pints of resin. It would be very nice if I don't have to place a secondary order and have to wait for a couple of weeks to finish the last half of the helmet.
All of the measurements I'm looking for are to finish out an Ironman Mark IV helmet. Oh, and if the default size is a medium, I've resized mine up to a XXL just for good measure - what can I say, got a big head.
(and I wanted to make sure I have plenty of room inside for fans and electronics) So gimme some answers with the quickness so I can get the orders in!!!
thanks ahead of time!
Others can chime in on their preference supplier. I bought mine from US Composite. Hit Google for the exact address. They were speedy in delivery, but quite expensive including delivery. I bought 2 gallons of polyester general purpose resin. I also bought 2 inch roll of fiberglass. The materials were more than enough to complete 2 sets of MK VI suits. I paid a little over $100. Hope this helps.
Spitfire22V
Well-Known Member
If you're in Austin, Texas, then there should be approximately 20 Wal-Marts in the area that will carry fiberglassing supplies in the automotive section.
Lowes, Home Depot, Autozone, etc will all carry resin, fiberglass cloth, and Bondo. You really shouldn't need to resort to online shopping. It's almost a certainty that there is a store within driving distance that carries the materials you need.
As for quantity, if you buy the material from the stores mentioned above, I can tell you that I used 1 quart and a half of resin and about 4 packets of fiberglass cloth for my entire suit.
Digitalist
New Member
Didn't even think about those places as retailers for materials honestly. I was checking boating suppliers and quickly found that pricing online was much better than locally. Thanks for the recommendation, that will save me a lot of time waiting (heading out the door now to go shopping!) - and yea, that's substantially less than I was expecting to have to use. I geuss a little goes a long way. Thanks for the input!
Digitalist
New Member
I don't think it will ever fully cure without it.
http://www.thehunterslair.com/topic/19399-will-fiberglass-resin-harden-without-the-hardener/
Without any hardener resin wont cure, even putting some but not enough hardener it can never fully cure so none at all it will never dry. I suggest you buy some you can buy catalyst separately without having to buy resin again to get it. If it cured without hardener then it would be unusable as it would cure in the tin, it remains liquid as it needs the hardener. For my particular resin i need 2-3% catalyst per volume of resin, any less than that and it would never cure how ever long you leave it to air dry for
would it be fine to apply the hardener after i applied the resin (without hardener) if not how do i scrape off the resin (cause i accidentally spilled some resin on my pepakura)
Spitfire22V
Well-Known Member
No, the hardener has to be mixed into the resin before being applied.
As for removal, if you really only spilled "some" resin, then you can scrape/wipe it off with either a popsicle stick, or a cloth/paper towel with some rubbing alcohol. If it's on a large surface, it's better to just trash it and start over (i.e. not worth salvaging).
thanks to be honest I wasn't paying attention when I was pouring out the resin into my cup and it went inside my helmet.
Digitalist
New Member
At least your mistake wasn't as bad as the one I just did. I applied my first resin only exterior layer 2 hours ago, not knowing at the time that my guesstimated measurements were wayyyyy off. Which resulted in not enough hardener. Thinking "on my feet" I hypothesized that since I initially had planned to stack multiple thin layers initially, I might could mix up a batch with a generous ratio of hardener, apply generously, and the hardener in the second layer may activate the initial layer. So I just finished slathering on the second layer now -- I'll know tomorrow when I wake up if it worked or not.
Digitalist
New Member
Follow up:
It worked like a champ!!! Had to check it once more before bed and... suhweet! It looks like some odd matte finished plastic. I'll glass the interior tomorrow night and get to work on the exterior bondo sometime this coming week. The next thing I'm not exactly sure about is, I'm thinking about after I glass the inside, maybe spraying a layer of rubberized surface coating over it - but don't know if it will react with the resin. I just think that black rubberized interior will look much better than yellow resin as well as act to seal any residual resin smell. It may also lend some strength to it too but I'm not banking on it.
Thoughts?
It worked like a champ!!! Had to check it once more before bed and... suhweet! It looks like some odd matte finished plastic. I'll glass the interior tomorrow night and get to work on the exterior bondo sometime this coming week. The next thing I'm not exactly sure about is, I'm thinking about after I glass the inside, maybe spraying a layer of rubberized surface coating over it - but don't know if it will react with the resin. I just think that black rubberized interior will look much better than yellow resin as well as act to seal any residual resin smell. It may also lend some strength to it too but I'm not banking on it.
Thoughts?
If that doesn't work, if you can get your hands on a halogen lamp bake the thing for a little bit, that's what I do when I don't do enough hardener. (obligatory message about safe distance so you don't torch the place). Even a hand held heat gun *can* do that but it takes a long time, and if you're not careful it will bubble.
TheEpicPerson99
New Member
ey i want to know what colors of paint i need for a master chief helm? also do i need to use bondo for the hardening?
- Status
