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

[Katsu]

Epoxy resin should be right? If it's a marine grade resin that takes a MEKP hardener, you're good to go. An indication of where you live, and the specific brand and type of the resin would help say for sure.

As for the cloth, you CAN use any fabric as a matrix, just fiberglass cloth will give you the strongest results. However, plastics and automotive stores will carry the cloth. AutoZone sells it as a car repair kit, o'reilley's and TAP also carry fiberglass. If you can give us an idea of where you are located, we can better say what sorts of stores you should check out.

 

[Raziel Azarak]

Any really rough areas will have to be smoothed with some kind of small grinder like a Dremel tool or by hand with coarse sandpaper. A really thick paint or spray coating can smooth other areas. Truck bedliner paint or rubberized undercoating work well. Do NOT use an asphalt undercoating or an off brand. It takes forever to cure, and smells nasty forever. I use 3M's rubberized undercoating--about 9 bucks, but money well spent. It tries fast and is soft, tough, and durable. If you want to texture your whole suit, this would be an excellent choice as it can be painted. Good luck.

Redshirt

I have a rotary that I used to help with the outer part.but it will be kinda hard to use it on the inside since the curve of the mask.I see it will be a problem when I do master chief helmet.since that's more closed up.you probably use smooth cast 301/2 for that then?if so then I could use that on the mask.the bigger bottles of the stuff world
Would be wiser to buy but it's a lot.I didn't do more than one layer of fiber glass for the mask.I'll try sand paper by hand & see how I do.I need to get coarser sand paper first since the smallest I have is 220.

Thank you

 

[Raziel Azarak]

Another way to go is to slush cast some rondo inside the helmet. It is still toxic like resin, but smoothes out the texture. You can then spray paint it to seal the odors off.

I thought about doing that.I'll have to brush it on since it's a half face mask. Differently don't want the smell.I'm around chemicals enough already, blah.

Thank you!

 

[Katsu]

I've had some good luck with sealing the rondo off with thick primers. Using just primer to hide the fiberglass only works so well, as sometimes fiberglass can be really rough and pointy. The rondo will hide it much easier (unless you smooth the fiberglass with a rotary tool, if it's a half mask that shouldn't be too hard). But in all instances, a paint will lock away the chemicals. I've had very bad luck trying to just air out rondo/fiberglass, that stuff will reek for months, at least the brands I buy.

 

[Raziel Azarak]

Then I'll leave it outside & annoy the neighbors upstairs with it. Maybe they will move out, MWHAHAHA!!! Won't have to listen to them slam & stump everything everyday.

I believe I will try the rondo on the mask. I started the mark vi helmet (I believe it's that one) last night. Got it all printed out & started gluing the first few pieces already. And I started watching cereal killer videos as well. I would of provided a link for them for other except I'm not at home writing this, I'm at work. Going to watch the rest of them tonight. Very helpful videos. One good thing about it. He doesn't have the music blasting loud while trying to tell you how to do what he does. Don't like the other videos of people doing that.

Can someone provide the link to his videos for other to watch, please?
I think I may do what he is doing & just make the helmet as a dummy to use it as a mold & casting. Not sure yet.
But I do recommend to everyone to watch his videos. There is also a video of a young man explaining how to do this stuff as well. Found his videos on youtube. I'll try to find him again & provide a link. He did a good job at trying to explain how to do it.

I would like to find a rotary tool that cereal killer has in the video. The smaller size one would be much better. Anyone knows where to find those?

Thanks!!!

 

[Jarrod]

I've ran into a bind. I have 90% of my Master Chief costume pepakura'ed and starting to think about the resining stage. Problem is that I pep'd my costume with glue stick and clear tape. Is there anything I can put ontop of my pep'd costume as a seal prior to resining to prevent my armour from falling apart?

Thanks

 

[Raziel Azarak]

I've ran into a bind. I have 90% of my Master Chief costume pepakura'ed and starting to think about the resining stage. Problem is that I pep'd my costume with glue stick and clear tape. Is there anything I can put ontop of my pep'd costume as a seal prior to resining to prevent my armour from falling apart?

Thanks

As far as I know, there shouldn't be any problem with the glue stick & resin (Using glue sticks on my next project, first time using it) I used rubber cement on my first one & it was ok. But, the tape will be eaten by the resin. Do you have the tape on the inside or the outside? If it's on the inside, you may have a good chance of getting it done without a problem. If you have tape on the outside. Then I would say you can try to glue the flaps on the inside so it can be held together as a back up.

That is from what I've learned about doing the projects. The hardener for the resin will cause it to cure fast, but it will become hot. I would say, if you can, try to remove the tape and do a piece at a time to glue it with the hot glue you used on the other part. If you can't remove the tape, just cut the tape so it doesn't hold the paper anymore & then glue it.

Like I said, I'm going off of stuff I've learned. Hopefully someone who walked this path that you are on can give you some pointers on what they did to correct it. You can try what I said, but that's a choice you have to make. Hopefully it will work out. If you do, let us know how it came out. Best of luck!

 

[Katsu]

I've ran into a bind. I have 90% of my Master Chief costume pepakura'ed and starting to think about the resining stage. Problem is that I pep'd my costume with glue stick and clear tape. Is there anything I can put ontop of my pep'd costume as a seal prior to resining to prevent my armour from falling apart?

Thanks

You shouldn't have used tape really... If the gluestick glue is a decent PVA glue, you'll be okay on that end. You don't want to seal the pepakura off, because one of the points of the resin is to soak it into the paper, and that won't happen if the paper is sealed. You either have to risk it falling apart and just toss the resin on, or redo the whole thing with a better glue. I'd test a small part of the piece and see what happens there first.

Then I'll leave it outside & annoy the neighbors upstairs with it. Maybe they will move out, MWHAHAHA!!! Won't have to listen to them slam & stump everything everyday.

I believe I will try the rondo on the mask. I started the mark vi helmet (I believe it's that one) last night. Got it all printed out & started gluing the first few pieces already. And I started watching cereal killer videos as well. I would of provided a link for them for other except I'm not at home writing this, I'm at work. Going to watch the rest of them tonight. Very helpful videos. One good thing about it. He doesn't have the music blasting loud while trying to tell you how to do what he does. Don't like the other videos of people doing that.

Can someone provide the link to his videos for other to watch, please?
I think I may do what he is doing & just make the helmet as a dummy to use it as a mold & casting. Not sure yet.
But I do recommend to everyone to watch his videos. There is also a video of a young man explaining how to do this stuff as well. Found his videos on youtube. I'll try to find him again & provide a link. He did a good job at trying to explain how to do it.

I would like to find a rotary tool that cereal killer has in the video. The smaller size one would be much better. Anyone knows where to find those?

Thanks!!!

http://www.405th.com/showthread.php...-Chief-**-A-Step-By-Step-Tutorial-(My-Way)-**

As for his rotary tool, I am pretty sure it is the extension attachment for a dremel. In the second video, you can clearly see the actual rotary tool hanging on a hook in the foreground, with a tube extending from it to the tool in his hand. Those extensions are handy, as they are a lot smaller and lighter than the actual tool, making using it easier.

I agree, it is nice his music is low, where most guys have it louder than their own voices.

If you are going to mold the mask, rondo will be fine. If you want it to be durable and crack resistant, you'll want to layer a couple layers of fiberglass in between the rondo to support and strengthen it. Despite what some people claim, rondo is not good at surviving drops or pressure. I think cereal mentions this in his videos briefly, too.

 

[Raziel Azarak]

Thank you for supplying the link to his video for others to watch. Yes, he did mention that the rondo is not a good support. He's just doing it like that cause he is going to make a mold & cast from it.

I wouldn't believe that the rondo would be a good support on it's own. I do have the mask fiberglass. But only one layer. I'm using the mask more for practice. The helmet I'm making now, I will layer that more. But, I'm not sure if I will do that since I might make a mold & cast from that.

 

[Katsu]

A lot of people claim it's good on its own, but the pros all seem to agree that fiberglass needs to be used too, in order for a piece to be wearable from pep. Mold cast doesn't matter what you do, so long as it's rondo or stronger. One layer of glass is good though.

Good luck, I can't wait to see it done!

 

[Redshirt]

I've ran into a bind. I have 90% of my Master Chief costume pepakura'ed and starting to think about the resining stage. Problem is that I pep'd my costume with glue stick and clear tape. Is there anything I can put ontop of my pep'd costume as a seal prior to resining to prevent my armour from falling apart?

Thanks

As Katsu said, the glue stick areas should be fine. The resin will liquefy immediately the tape adhesive. He is also right that you don't want to seal off the paper because the resin must penetrate and bond with as many fibers as possible. Before you resin, I would come from the inside with thin super glue (cyanoacrylate) in just the areas where there is tape. The glue is cheap at Harbor Freight & some Dollar stores if you're in the USA. Anyway, the super glue is thinner than resin and will penetrate through to the outside (where I assume the tape layer is) and bind together the fibers almost as well as the resin. Also, since the glue alone has no strength, don't use any more than is needed to saturate the paper. Following this, see if you can remove the tape prior to resining the whole piece. If not, resin anyway. Don't get carried away with the super glue and cover more areas than you need as the resin is still superior, let it do the bonding job on as much of the piece as possible.

Redshirt

 

[kimixmeow]

Papercraft horns

Hello!
I though I'd ask for some advice on coating papercraft horns, and any advice would be appreciated!

Basically, the horns i want to make are big (2 feet tall ish, ancestor horns i posted here: http://paperkimi.blogspot.com/2012/05/homestuck-troll-horns.html) but I doubt I need to go through as many steps for filling them and strengthening them, because then they would become too heavy. I just want them to be slightly more rounded, and id like a bit of advice on painting them and making them shiny.
So:
Should I just use one layer of the EpoxAmite 101 Fast, and then sand and paint?
Or is there an even quicker/less expensive option?
They only need to hold up for a little while, but id like them to be less blocky!
Thanks for any advice!
-Kimi

 

[narutaki]

Epoxy resin should be right? If it's a marine grade resin that takes a MEKP hardener, you're good to go. An indication of where you live, and the specific brand and type of the resin would help say for sure.

As for the cloth, you CAN use any fabric as a matrix, just fiberglass cloth will give you the strongest results. However, plastics and automotive stores will carry the cloth. AutoZone sells it as a car repair kit, o'reilley's and TAP also carry fiberglass. If you can give us an idea of where you are located, we can better say what sorts of stores you should check out.

Thank you Katsu.

im living in the Davao City Philippines, and i dont know many stores here in my area, though i do know a few hardware store locations, where i found the marine epoxy resin, the problem i have now is where i can find the fiber glass cloth most hardware stores here doesnt have it.

if i use any regular cloth as matrix will it be hard enough, the same as using the fiberglass cloth ?

also i have this Crazy idea of using Plastic Varnish instead of epoxy resin, will that also yeild the same effect ?

 

[Katsu]

Thank you Katsu.

im living in the Davao City Philippines, and i dont know many stores here in my area, though i do know a few hardware store locations, where i found the marine epoxy resin, the problem i have now is where i can find the fiber glass cloth most hardware stores here doesnt have it.

if i use any regular cloth as matrix will it be hard enough, the same as using the fiberglass cloth ?

also i have this Crazy idea of using Plastic Varnish instead of epoxy resin, will that also yeild the same effect ?

Well, maps.google.com is your friend. According to it, there are a TON of auto stores in "Davao Del Sur" Go to any auto parts store and you can at least ask the store clerk where to buy the fiberglass cloth.

Regular cloth will not be anywhere near as good as fiberglass cloth. It will be better than JUST resin, but it will not have the same strength as fiberglass. If you have the bondo (Auto body filler), you can mix that with the resin and that will provide decent strength instead. You can't drop the thing, but it will stand up to decent wearing.

Marine grade epoxy resin is about as strong as you can get. Using other things will potentially be less toxic, but it is VERY hard to beat fiberglass Resin in terms of strength to weight ratio.

I mean, it's all about experimenting though. You could give plastic varnish and fabric cloth a try. It may be strong enough for your needs. Just from my experience, and my needs for really durable armor that will last a lot of wear and use, fiberglass is the best, short of mold casting.

Hello!
I though I'd ask for some advice on coating papercraft horns, and any advice would be appreciated!

Basically, the horns i want to make are big (2 feet tall ish, ancestor horns i posted here: http://paperkimi.blogspot.com/2012/05/homestuck-troll-horns.html) but I doubt I need to go through as many steps for filling them and strengthening them, because then they would become too heavy. I just want them to be slightly more rounded, and id like a bit of advice on painting them and making them shiny.
So:
Should I just use one layer of the EpoxAmite 101 Fast, and then sand and paint?
Or is there an even quicker/less expensive option?
They only need to hold up for a little while, but id like them to be less blocky!
Thanks for any advice!
-Kimi

Uhhh... I mean you can always use chicken wire and paper mache if you're more concerned with speed and cost. Horns don't have a lot going into them, so I wouldn't really overthink it that much personally. From the information provided, and the item being made (There isn't a lot of detail going into horns), you might be better off with a less chemical and time+money costing tactic.

 

[Raziel Azarak]

Well, maps.google.com is your friend. According to it, there are a TON of auto stores in "Davao Del Sur" Go to any auto parts store and you can at least ask the store clerk where to buy the fiberglass cloth.

Regular cloth will not be anywhere near as good as fiberglass cloth. It will be better than JUST resin, but it will not have the same strength as fiberglass. If you have the bondo (Auto body filler), you can mix that with the resin and that will provide decent strength instead. You can't drop the thing, but it will stand up to decent wearing.

Marine grade epoxy resin is about as strong as you can get. Using other things will potentially be less toxic, but it is VERY hard to beat fiberglass Resin in terms of strength to weight ratio.

I mean, it's all about experimenting though. You could give plastic varnish and fabric cloth a try. It may be strong enough for your needs. Just from my experience, and my needs for really durable armor that will last a lot of wear and use, fiberglass is the best, short of mold casting.






Uhhh... I mean you can always use chicken wire and paper mache if you're more concerned with speed and cost. Horns don't have a lot going into them, so I wouldn't really overthink it that much personally. From the information provided, and the item being made (There isn't a lot of detail going into horns), you might be better off with a less chemical and time+money costing tactic.

x2. Go old school & paper mache the horns. REALLY CHEAP to do & it won't be heavy. And it will be quicker. Don't know how? Well... the internet is your friend! Specially if you don't care what happens with them after you're done with them. This would be the route to go. Using fiberglass & all that other stuff. That would be for more if you want to keep the item you are making & don't want it to really break easy.

 

[narutaki]

Well, maps.google.com is your friend. According to it, there are a TON of auto stores in "Davao Del Sur" Go to any auto parts store and you can at least ask the store clerk where to buy the fiberglass cloth.

Regular cloth will not be anywhere near as good as fiberglass cloth. It will be better than JUST resin, but it will not have the same strength as fiberglass. If you have the bondo (Auto body filler), you can mix that with the resin and that will provide decent strength instead. You can't drop the thing, but it will stand up to decent wearing.

Marine grade epoxy resin is about as strong as you can get. Using other things will potentially be less toxic, but it is VERY hard to beat fiberglass Resin in terms of strength to weight ratio.

I mean, it's all about experimenting though. You could give plastic varnish and fabric cloth a try. It may be strong enough for your needs. Just from my experience, and my needs for really durable armor that will last a lot of wear and use, fiberglass is the best, short of mold casting.






Uhhh... I mean you can always use chicken wire and paper mache if you're more concerned with speed and cost. Horns don't have a lot going into them, so I wouldn't really overthink it that much personally. From the information provided, and the item being made (There isn't a lot of detail going into horns), you might be better off with a less chemical and time+money costing tactic.

Thank you Katsu I'll try these experiments i have in mind your advices really helped

 

[Ziebster]

Do foam brushes melt when you apply resin with them? I know I can use brushes that us hair, but I have a lot more foam ones.

 

[BlueManiac]

They shouldn't melt but I don't like using them
They tend to break up a bit as you use them and leave black bits of the brush behind. The bristle brushes tend to leave hairs behind as well though so I guess its just based on preference

 

[RESTREPO]

So what if you used the wrong glue? Is there any way to save the paper model ?

 

[GhostDude]

I have a question.
I have already added fiberglass on the inside of my helmet and now im wondering how is the best way to sand the inside?
What kind of sandpaper and tools do you use?