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

[Nintendude]

And these helmets held up fine... right? o_0

So far everytime I have "slushcasted" the inside of a helmet instead of using fiberglass cloth they have all held up well and I have'nt had any warping from doing it yet. The last helmet I did it with was a Gundam helmet and it had over 50pds of weight on it before it got damaged.

 

[Dark Star]

Sorry man I have to disagree on the full on bronze spartan armor 0_0 itd be freaking bad### but I dont know anyone who could move at a decent speed in that. Unless it was really thin bronze :$ but that sounds like it would have to be machine made, or take YEARS to make by hand. Very cool idea though, and I like the concept behind it.

 

[Snyper]

Some good tips in there

That sentence is wrong. Better safety equipment is more expensive, that's certainly true. But knowing what protection you need and then getting precisely that protection and applying it correctly (very important step!) is important, not just buying what's most expensive and hoping it'll work.

From the questions I've seen regarding safety, many people seem to have no idea about how respirators work, about the difference between gas and dust or even about what substances they actually need protection against when working on their armour. I think that is a far bigger problem than money.

That is so true! i didn't think about it like that. The MSDS' on the chemicals should tell you what to use as respiratory protection.

I use K&H "rc631" mould release with PVC gloves. I first used latex gloves, but they disintegrated immediately. Its great. I once did have a big problem with some Pre-Release (PREO) that i couldn't solve by acetone wiping. I eventually got it solved by leaving it in an oven to bake for an hour but ended up damaging the flange (which was a pain in the a** to fix).

Hope that helps

 

[WandererTJ]

That is so true! i didn't think about it like that. The MSDS' on the chemicals should tell you what to use as respiratory protection.

Man when you posted about that MSDS, it sounded so cool, and I thank you for sharing it, but I wasnt sure where to go in the site to pull up all the chemical/hazardous information. It could be because I'm tired, or I just played a game of Reach with cruddy teammates, but I just could not find the link to it. Would you mind posting a URL?

 

[ventrue]

I've read somewhere that fiberglass resin contains a percentage of resin and fiberglass. Why not use this instead of separating the work into steps 2 and 3? Will primers really help with painting the armor? How much more weight will be added after all the coats are done?

Fiberglass resin doesn't contain fibreglass. They just want you to use it together with fibreglass, that's where the name comes from.

I know the guy probably hasnt read the thread, but isnt this at least the right thread he should be reading? It is titled "fiberglassing, resin, and bondo"....

To my understanding, this is a thread to ask questions, not a tutorial. Although it can't hurt to read it anyways...

Man when you posted about that MSDS, it sounded so cool, and I thank you for sharing it, but I wasnt sure where to go in the site to pull up all the chemical/hazardous information. It could be because I'm tired, or I just played a game of Reach with cruddy teammates, but I just could not find the link to it. Would you mind posting a URL?

Try the product's manufacturer.

I use K&H "rc631" mould release with PVC gloves. I first used latex gloves, but they disintegrated immediately.

Interesting. I wouldn't expect that, considering that PVC and nitrile gloves are recommended in the MSDS of that stuff

 

[bulldogresler]

I couldn't find this using the search button, but if i don't have a dremel tool, could i put a thin coat of bondo on top of a dry on and use a carving tool on the bondo while its still soft? would that work?

 

[Dark Star]

Oo I wanna get in on this too, what CAN you detail with besides a dremel? o_o

 

[Nintendude]

Oo I wanna get in on this too, what CAN you detail with besides a dremel? o_o

Mouse Sander, Hand Sander, I've used Clay Scupting Tools to carve away a little when it was still soft.

 

[Roadkiller]

A pack of "needle" files (like this - http://www.princessauto.com/worksho...ols/files/2921823-10-pc-5-1/2-needle-file-set ) comes in pretty handy.

 

[WandererTJ]

To my understanding, this is a thread to ask questions, not a tutorial. Although it can't hurt to read it anyways...

I totally read through all the "Help!" Threads in the noob forums and they were extremely enlightening. It did take a long while to go through though.


Now in terms of getting a Dremel. I dont have one, asking for one for christmas though. I gotta say to everyone that getting a Dremel is a worthwhile investment. Multi-tools are great because you may (probably will) come across something in the future in which you will need a dremel to work on a project.

 

[Snyper]

Man when you posted about that MSDS, it sounded so cool, and I thank you for sharing it, but I wasnt sure where to go in the site to pull up all the chemical/hazardous information. It could be because I'm tired, or I just played a game of Reach with cruddy teammates, but I just could not find the link to it. Would you mind posting a URL?

Which Chemical MSDS are you looking for? The MSDS' are different for every chemical, Google is your friend. Eg. "Acetone MSDS" will return with a few results but your generally looking for a PDF file. http://dkt.net.au/msdsfiles/acetone.pdf

Another useful site is the Wiki on UN numbers. These are used in transport to tell Fire Fighters how to contain a situation involving said chemical. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_UN_numbers
As an example Acetone's UN number is 1090 which i found on the bottle.

Interesting. I wouldn't expect that, considering that PVC and nitrile gloves are recommended in the MSDS of that stuff

Yea its strange stuff. The Latex gloves become "soft" and tear easily in less than 10 seconds of use with the mould release. Whereas the others hold up pretty well. They still disintegrate after about 30 mins but they are disposable after all. They're also an alternative solution for Latex Allergy Sufferers.

 

[Zombhs]

Question about Resin. Will you still be able to bend the pepakura after you resin it or will it crack/ be too hard.

 

[ventrue]

Question about Resin. Will you still be able to bend the pepakura after you resin it or will it crack/ be too hard.

You can still bend a single sheet of paper with some resin on it (1...3 layers, depending on layer thickness and cardboard weight), but any folds nearby will give it lots of stability, so the model as a whole is somewhat rigid. Probably not enough to wear it, but enough to work on it.

 

[Zombhs]

Okay thanks cause my helmet needs to be resined before I can fully finish it as certain parts are to narrow to resin after they are closed.

 

[ventrue]

Okay thanks cause my helmet needs to be resined before I can fully finish it as certain parts are to narrow to resin after they are closed.

Like which parts? I'm not really sure this is a good idea. In any case, make sure to post the results if you do it like this

 

[King Ramna]

Where do you but fiberglass cloth at a local store. The complete noob list didn't mention a place to buy it from. Home Depot sells fiber glass screen for doors, but that doesnt sound the same.

 

[Ral Partha]

Where do you but fiberglass cloth at a local store. The complete noob list didn't mention a place to buy it from.

Auto parts store.

Home Depot sells fiber glass screen for doors, but that doesnt sound the same.

They're not the same. Fiberglass cloth is white, folded in a 5-in square and labeled as such.

 

[guitargod546]

After you finish hot gluing your project, do you go straight in to resin and fiberglass? If not, what do you do

 

[ventrue]

After you finish hot gluing your project, do you go straight in to resin and fiberglass? If not, what do you do

Yes, you do. But it can't hurt to check the fit first (if possible), check that it's built right (symmetry, dents), and possibly fix any mistakes you may find or put in support struts if neccessary.

 

[NeoKeth]

Ok... so I may be blind still, but I can't find the answer to this question: When you use rondo to re-inforce the stiffened pep, do you need fiberglass cloth still? If not, CAN you use it? What about using fiberglass cloth with just plain bondo, how would that turn out? I've worked a bit with fiberglass, but only one rather small project with bondo.