"Help!" for: Fiberglassing, Resin, & Bondo
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Raziel Azarak
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I'm glad I see this every so often! You peeps are up on the safety area, that is very good! Make sure you are also working in an open environment as well. If you are working in your garage or patio, make sure you keep the door to the house closed & the garage door open!
You do want to use the safety equipment still even if you are outside. Resin has a strong chemical Odor. At times it feels like it disintegrates the air in your longs.
Gloves are important to have since the resin get extremely hot, burning hands aren't fun.
I would recommend long sleeve shirt & paints with your glove using.
Make sure the respirator is for organic vapors (I believe that's the one). Not cheap, but worth the money if you are going to be doing this!
You don't want to get any of the chemicals you are using on or near your eyes Protect them from the itching, burning, blindness!!!
The more immediate concern would be that the chemicals are chemicals, not that they're hot. Even thick gloves (which are what you would need for an actualy "hands-on" experience with resin) won't help you with heat.
Yes.
Skullptura
Member
This thread took a long time to read through lol, but very informative. The only problem i had was finding a reccomended type of product. I'm in Australia so all stuff posted here is generally American. But i got some stuff from bunnings hardware after comparing it online works great. The look on the guys face at the automotive store was priceless when i told him i was putting car body filler on paper.
neeb armer
New Member
i have had this stuff stuck on my fingers stuck in my hair stuck on my arms and yes it is VERY hard to get off.i have ruined few too many of my favorite flannels to fiberglass resin always have good protection.
also DO NOT mix the resin in a Styrofoam cup. i dont know what i was thinking this morning but i did... biggest mistake ever cup broke out and resin went spilling everywhere
BuildsByBaz
Sr Member
Last thing I fibreglassed was thishttp://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=AU&hl=en-GB&v=KF_w4RaBg2o , so a helmet should hardly be a challenge.....
Raziel Azarak
New Member
I use thick gloves & haven't had a problem with resin being on there. Maybe the amount? but, yes, it's chemicals.a reason to wear it.
Assassin3698
Member
Hey guys, I hopefully have only have one more question. I was wondering if It was OK to rondo both the inside and out. I honestly don't want to deal with the bondo ( after resin of course), but will if I have to. I only ask because I was going through the forum and found a thread by Sigma-LS and saw him use it on the outside and it raised my curiosity.
BOTTOMLINE- Can you skip using bondo by using a few layers of rondo on the outside?
BOTTOMLINE- Can you skip using bondo by using a few layers of rondo on the outside?
Yes, you can use Rondo instead of Bondo. But you should think about what you're really trying to do there. If you use it on the inside, it's to harden the model and you want it runny so it gets everywhere. If you use anything on the outside after that, it's to make the model look better by filling holes and stuff like that. Bondo will probably be more suitable for that. Unless you know exactly why you're doing it, don't add anything to the outside.
Using it on the outside is not worth the pain and effort. You're basically using it as bondo, but runnier and harder to work with. The bondo is probably the easiest to work with, rondo is just meant as a lazy way to spread strength/support stuff around an area. Rondo will run and drip and get everywhere (sort of like resin), so it's very bad for smoothing out detail areas on the outside, as you will end up losing those details.
I mean... you CAN use it on the outside, but I personally advise against it. If you're using rondo, you're using bondo anyways, so I'd say go with bondo for the outside.
Did you have a specific concern about bondo-only usage?
I mean... you CAN use it on the outside, but I personally advise against it. If you're using rondo, you're using bondo anyways, so I'd say go with bondo for the outside.
Did you have a specific concern about bondo-only usage?
Assassin3698
Member
I actually was specifically concerned with the application into detailed areas. I am working on a reach HAZOP helmet and there is a lot of small, inverted areas and don't really want to mess it up with stupid bondo mistakes on my part. And if possible what's a good way to fill small holes, I was going to just let the resin and fiberglass fill them in and cover it with bondo, now knowing I have to used it.
Sangheilli106
New Member
thanks a bunch and for everyone else, what do you suggest as a glue for the pepakura cardstock? cuz i used rubber cement but it eventually came apart....
That's an interesting idea. I suggest working with rondo a bit first to get the feel for it, because it is a VERY squirrely substance. Bondo is your absolute best option for raised surfaces, but mixing some resin in could help it settle evenly on indented surfaces. The one thing to be careful of, though, is that even at 50/50 (a very liquid runny mixture) rondo will still be VERY thick, so you'd need to dig the indent deeper to make sure you don't just fully fill it in. This is a very intriguing idea, one I am going to have to test out myself on tuesday... I love it!
Either use PVA glue, or hot glue gun. PVA glue would be any high quality white liquid glue, where-as hot glue is... well yeah. Hot glue is nice because you can undo any mistakes you make, but can get messy as it webs up. PVA is easier and safer to work with (no burning) but is more permanent. Both should be immune to the ravages of resin.
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One other detail to consider is workability after you apply it. Resin is harder (and more brittle) than Bondo. That means it's hard to sand. Therefore Rondo will still be harder to shape than Bondo. If you are willing to spend a little more, feather weight Bondo for the aircraft industry are available that have additional fillers that make them lighter and easier to sand.
Don't forget spot putty, that's for working fine details and certainly a good choice for corners and recessed details. I really like DTC's Icing which is available through NAPA stores. It is catalyzed like Bondo, but really easy to sand. There is also the standard red spot putty. It is toluene-based and air dries. Though cheaper, it is more brittle, shrinks slightly, and can take a long time to dry if you use a lot. At double the price, I consider the Icing to be money well-spent and will never go back to the red stuff.
Redshirt
Raziel Azarak
New Member
It will take more time, but work in small batches of bondo to get the small areas filled. Then work on detailing it. Just take you time. Like the others have said. Rondo will be more liquid & will get everywhere. That's more for added support & smoothing the area, like the inside of the helmet.
But, the choice is yours. Use rondo on the outside if you would like. Just make something to hold your project & cover up the floor/table so the rondo won't get on it. Not sure how well the rondo will be to sand down by hand to get the shape you want. I would think it would be a bit harder since it has resin & both the hardener in it.
You can always use it on something else & see how it will work out for you first, before you put it on your project.
But, the choice is yours. Use rondo on the outside if you would like. Just make something to hold your project & cover up the floor/table so the rondo won't get on it. Not sure how well the rondo will be to sand down by hand to get the shape you want. I would think it would be a bit harder since it has resin & both the hardener in it.
You can always use it on something else & see how it will work out for you first, before you put it on your project.
Assassin3698
Member
What do you mean dig the indent deeper? I was also planning on brushing in the rondo. And can't wait for your results.
Rondo is VERY thick, and likes to work thickly, it doesn't really brush very well, and in order to get any meaningful results with it, you need a decent amount of it.
Another problem is, the nature of the Bondo part of Rondo is that bondo likes to stick to EVERYTHING, which is why it's smoothed on with a squeegee, unlike resin which is usually applied with a brush. When I tried to brush rondo, it would just glop up the brush and leave an ugly drag mark behind. If the rondo is thin enough, it may get away from that dragging..
But the big question is, what surface on which piece were you thinking of doing this to? (pics are always helpful). When I was thinking of applications for it, I was thinking of a 1 inch by 0.5 inch block on the top of the Mk5 helmet (The top two notches in this picture):
The problem is, they look great from afar, but it's impossible to reach in those holes to smooth them out with sandpaper/sanding files/whatever, so I figured maybe I'd just dig the holes deeper, fill them with rondo, and let its liquid nature create a smooth surface instead.
Another problem is, the nature of the Bondo part of Rondo is that bondo likes to stick to EVERYTHING, which is why it's smoothed on with a squeegee, unlike resin which is usually applied with a brush. When I tried to brush rondo, it would just glop up the brush and leave an ugly drag mark behind. If the rondo is thin enough, it may get away from that dragging..
But the big question is, what surface on which piece were you thinking of doing this to? (pics are always helpful). When I was thinking of applications for it, I was thinking of a 1 inch by 0.5 inch block on the top of the Mk5 helmet (The top two notches in this picture):
The problem is, they look great from afar, but it's impossible to reach in those holes to smooth them out with sandpaper/sanding files/whatever, so I figured maybe I'd just dig the holes deeper, fill them with rondo, and let its liquid nature create a smooth surface instead.
Assassin3698
Member
I was watching Cereal Killl3r's videos and he was brushing it in. And how would you dig it deeper was my question, wouldn't you break through? Unless I'm missing something about what you mean by digging. Here's the area that concerned me. Sorry about the pics size. Don't know how to edit.
Like I said, brushing in a little area isn't plausible, like mine, and it also depends on the mixture ratio you go with. The ones I saw of him involved brushing it on the inside, and pouring it on the outside (The connectors on the chestplate, for example) with the box made of playing cards.
If you're thinking of the indented vent hole on the hazop helmet, why do you even need to bondo/rondo it? It's flat and premade, so if you resin it carefully, it should be fine?
As for digging, I put a thick layer of rondo on the inside first, it acts as a buffer so that I can dig into the helmet when adding features. Those two notches at the top of the helmet weren't in the pep file, so I took my dremel and gouged them out. I also carved all of the detail lines, and further notches in the nose and cheeks.
If you're thinking of the indented vent hole on the hazop helmet, why do you even need to bondo/rondo it? It's flat and premade, so if you resin it carefully, it should be fine?
As for digging, I put a thick layer of rondo on the inside first, it acts as a buffer so that I can dig into the helmet when adding features. Those two notches at the top of the helmet weren't in the pep file, so I took my dremel and gouged them out. I also carved all of the detail lines, and further notches in the nose and cheeks.
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