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

[Carpathia]

A common practice for building torso models as well as other pieces is to split the model before painting. My question is what tool do you use to split a fiberglassed and bondo-ed piece? Is it a rotary tool, or some other device?

Most use a Dremel rotory tool with a cutting wheel. The problem with that is that many dremel cutting wheels have some thickness (ranging from 1/32" to 1/16") and this has the possibility of creating some complications when you try to realign the pieces, since there is a 1/16" strip missing. I would suggest keeping your cutting tool, whatever it is, as thin as possible to avoid this complication. I know that there are some dremel cutting wheels that are thinner (check out what Cereal Killl3r uses in his video) but I am not sure if they are more expensive (although I imagine they would be).

 

[tankball]

The reason for the different methods is because there are different needs of different people, and different preferences. Almost all of the difference is on the inside of the piece. On the outside you always have
pepakura -> resin -> bondo -> sanded
On the inside you can go
1 pepakura -> resin -> fiberglass -> fiberglass
or
2 pepakura -> resin -> rondo
or
3 pepakura -> fiberglass
or
4 pepakura -> rondo
or
5 pepakura -> resin -> rondo -> fiberglass -> fiberglass -> rondo

k so i have my amon mask pep finshed

but idk what to do foe the inside seeing how i cant fiderglass it and idk what rondo is, can someone help me. (man i hate feeling like a noob)

 

[Katsu]

Rondo is fiberglass resin mixed with bondo.

For a mask, you probably want to mold cast it so you don't get sick from toxic chemicals. If you CAN get fiberglass resin and bondo, then mix them together and pour on the inside of the mask. Then smooth the outside with bondo. Then create a latex or silicone negative with a fiberglass outer shell. Then pour plastic in this and you'll have a lightweight, safe to wear mask that is strong.

These five videos do a good job of showing the process:

If you can't get fiberglass resin and bondo, then... you'll need to see if there is an alternative automotive stores sell.

 

[tankball]

alright can u tell me where to for resin.

 

[Katsu]

where to what?

 

[Lord Ned]

Hey all. I've pepped some pieces with 110lbs cardstock, white Elmer's glue and a few pieces of masking tape. I'm using the masking tape in a few spots to hold sections together (it's a 3-part Iron Man helmet) and there's a fair amount of pressure on them.

I just want to check that there will be no issues with fiberglassing the exterior over the tape, and then rondoing the insides. Don't want the tape to melt and have the thing pop apart on me suddenly.

 

[Katsu]

I've never heard of glue reacting badly to resins, but I have heard many stories of tape being undone by it, since it uses a different chemical process to bond. You can of course apply some super glue around and on top of the tape to seal it down and make sure the resin won't dissolve it... it will help to put super glue on the inside where the tape is, too.

 

[Carpathia]

Hey all. I've pepped some pieces with 110lbs cardstock, white Elmer's glue and a few pieces of masking tape. I'm using the masking tape in a few spots to hold sections together (it's a 3-part Iron Man helmet) and there's a fair amount of pressure on them.

I just want to check that there will be no issues with fiberglassing the exterior over the tape, and then rondoing the insides. Don't want the tape to melt and have the thing pop apart on me suddenly.

Katsu is correct, tape will not react well with the fiberglass resin. The resin dissolves the adhesive on the tape. You would be better off getting the pep secured with glue than relying on tape. You can use tape as a temporary measure until the glue dries, but remove it before you resin, otherwise you will have a bit of a mess to clean up.

 

[Lord Ned]

I've never heard of glue reacting badly to resins, but I have heard many stories of tape being undone by it, since it uses a different chemical process to bond. You can of course apply some super glue around and on top of the tape to seal it down and make sure the resin won't dissolve it... it will help to put super glue on the inside where the tape is, too.

Katsu is correct, tape will not react well with the fiberglass resin. The resin dissolves the adhesive on the tape. You would be better off getting the pep secured with glue than relying on tape. You can use tape as a temporary measure until the glue dries, but remove it before you resin, otherwise you will have a bit of a mess to clean up.

I am glad I stopped by here first and checked. I will just glue the parts together and remove the tape, since I planned on resin-coating the exterior and rondoing the inside and then cutting them apart and re-building the edges afterwards to prevent warpage in the first place.

Cheers all.

 

[Raziel Azarak]

Hey tankball. That's a nice looking mask! Where is that from? And why did you animate a pair of boots in the photo? You can fiberglass the mask on the inside. I have a half mask that I made. You can see some pics of it up here:http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/37050-Project-M...MWHAHAHA Well... I don't have pics of the inside, but I did fiberglass it. I do have more pics I need to put up which shows the rondo/glazing putty on the inside.

Then you'll just want to use a rotary tool to cut out the pieces for the mouth & eyes & then maybe a good file to trim the edges done the way you want. I got a big size file & a bunch of small ones at Harbour freight for like 10 bucks. Can't beat that. & the work well. Also bought a file brush to clean them. That I had to get at home depot or lowes.

 

[Lord Ned]

Since I hit a snag with acquiring fiberglass resin, I decided I'd mix up a little bit of bondo and practice spreading it on a block of wood. However, the "cream hardener" that came with it has a very low* viscosity - much higher than the body filler, pretty much a liquid. That is after several minutes of kneeding the tube. I pretty much tipped it over with the intentions to squeeze out some hardener and it just dripped out right away.

Is this the consistency hardener is supposed to have? In a lot of the videos I've seen, it looks like an actual cream that you have to squeeze to get out.

*High viscosity is the opposite of what I wanted, which is what the post originally said. Fixed it

 

[Lornex117]

you are correct sir, the consistency must be in cream form. If it is a liquid and no matter how much you neaded the tube it didn't change it's consistency, the hardener is toast and you must get a new tube.

 

[Lord Ned]

you are correct sir, the consistency must be in cream form. If it is a liquid and no matter how much you neaded the tube it didn't change it's consistency, the hardener is toast and you must get a new tube.

Cheers. I'll pick up some Bondo Lightweight (all Home Depot carries unfortunately) if I can't get any cream hardener separate, and return the other one when I get the chance. Thanks again.

 

[TheWillRogers]

Ok so i have a question and i hope this is the correct thread. After fiberglassing a helmet of mine i can't vision myself wearing it due to the fumes. what is to be done about this? budget is low so molding is out of the question.

 

[Carpathia]

Ok so i have a question and i hope this is the correct thread. After fiberglassing a helmet of mine i can't vision myself wearing it due to the fumes. what is to be done about this? budget is low so molding is out of the question.

The smell will eventually dissapate. By the time you're finished painting, installing the visor and padding, you won't even notice it.

 

[Katsu]

I would like to add that after a few days, once the majority of the fumes are gone, if you still have some lingering odors you can seal the inside with a thick paint. I like to do this either way, as it puts a barrier between you and the fiberglass, should your nose or something ever touch the inside of the helmet. Most people are fine with it after letting it air out a few days, but I am a bit sensitive to the smells and feel.

 

[BuildsByBaz]

I've built a complete MKIV Iron man helmet out of 200GSM card, but it is still warped.

If I paint it with fibreglass resin to stiffen it, can I use HEAT (like a paint stripper-gun) to shape it once it has set, so I can get the faceplate and helmet to match?

 

[Katsu]

I've heard you can heat form resin to an extent, but be sure to try it outside, as the heat can cause the resin to release vapors.

People say it can be heat formed, but that seems counterintuitive to me, since resin heat hardens.. Who knows though, chemicals do funny things! Worst that happens is it doesn't change.

Warping can happen during pep stage because of improperly aligning the pieces when gluing them together. The cardstock is strong enough to not warp from its own weight (like paper does). I notice you printed in color with no numbers (or maybe just painted it?), the numbers are VERY important to pepakura because you line them up to make sure the two pieces are centered correctly. By freeballing it, you run a high risk of them not being aligned, and even a half millimeter of misalignment can throw off the entire piece and cause it to warp from tortion.

 

[BuildsByBaz]

I've heard you can heat form resin to an extent, but be sure to try it outside, as the heat can cause the resin to release vapors.

People say it can be heat formed, but that seems counterintuitive to me, since resin heat hardens.. Who knows though, chemicals do funny things! Worst that happens is it doesn't change.

Warping can happen during pep stage because of improperly aligning the pieces when gluing them together. The cardstock is strong enough to not warp from its own weight (like paper does). I notice you printed in color with no numbers (or maybe just painted it?), the numbers are VERY important to pepakura because you line them up to make sure the two pieces are centered correctly. By freeballing it, you run a high risk of them not being aligned, and even a half millimeter of misalignment can throw off the entire piece and cause it to warp from tortion.

Thank you mate. I'll see what happens and if it doesn't work, then I learned a lot just by folding and gluing this lot together. It will be 100% better next time. Cheers!

 

[Assassin3698]

Just in case anyone's interested I went to Walmart to get some fiberglass resin and found a KIT for about $11 that included: 1 quart of resin, 1 tube of hardener, and if I remember correctly, 3x3 fiberglass cloth ( and stuff like a mixing container, a mixing stick and some other odds and ends) In my opinion I thought It was great for a small project or as a starter kit. And that it might be a little easier on someone's wallet. But it might have changed so....... Yeah. And if it's not there then sorry, but it should.