Resining & Fibre Glassing Tutorial/How To

Faber82 · Jun 27, 2012

problems with fiberglassing

Hi

I'm new here, but I visit this forum for some time now. Also, english is not my official language so it may be difficult, sometimes, to understand me, so sorry if that occures.
Thing is... I Pep'ed master chief helmet. I resined it, and started to fiberglass it, and that's where it got tricky. I use fiberglass cloth and a thick one. I put more or less one layer of fiberglass using methods from tutorials placed here. After drying and some first sanding it turned out that in some places resined fiberglass did not stick to the cardboard, and made an ampty space between cardboard and fiberglass cloth. While sanding I made holes in such places. how to close those holes and fill the gaps so it look good and don't fall off. Also I had difficulites with fiberglassing places such as peak ( I gues thats the right word) or "cheeks". Any tips? i used MKVI_HD_HELM_FLYINGSQUIRL model.

AsthMattic · Jul 25, 2012

Faber, you can either fill the gaps with more resin or Bondo would work as well. Also I've found in my own work that once you set a resined piece out to cure, take an extra five minutes or so and sit with it making sure that the cloth doesn't fold up is one of the best things you can do.

I also wanted to ask a general question about using brushed to apply the resin. Do you just wash the resin off the end and re-use them or is it a one-time-use thing?

ventrue · Jul 25, 2012

Faber82 said:
Any tips?

Open the holes up and fill them with Bondo.

AsthMattic said:
I also wanted to ask a general question about using brushed to apply the resin. Do you just wash the resin off the end and re-use them or is it a one-time-use thing?

To "wash it off", you'd need solvent, which you'd have to first buy and then properly dispose of at the end. It's cheaper and easier to get cheap brushes and throw them away.

AsthMattic · Jul 25, 2012

Thanks mate

Garfunkel64 · Oct 31, 2012

Hey everyone! First post in a thread, so please have mercy on my newbieness. I haven't started on my project yet due to my deployment and living conditions, but I have a wishlist of items that I'm ready to throw down the cash for and buy to get started when I return. I'm fairly confident in my abilities to get through the Pep stage (Going to use Pep as the base framework, obviously), and I have a question regarding the possible resin/cloth combinations, well, one in particular. I want to reinforce the helmet with *Long pause and big breath* Carbon fiber/kevlar interweave cloth rather than the classic fiberglass, which requires a different type of resin as well *carbon fiber polyester resin w/ sanding aid (to remove tackyness)*. My main concern is whether it will actually be a worth-while investment as far as using it to play airsoft/run through the woods/trees/bushes/etc. Sorry for the long post, just interested in opinions! Thanks! Also, One-way Polycarbonate Mirror for the visor!

Katsu · Nov 2, 2012

So, for the first question, you CAN do it in carbon fiber or kevlar, I've seen both done. The carbon fiber is a bit nicer in my opinion than kevlar. Kevlar isn't as flexible around tight corners, so you'd either need a thick layer of rondo inside, or have the kevlar warp the external look of the piece. Carbon fiber hugs edges pretty nicely, I've seen people make fairly intricate shapes with it, but it is really used for weight reduction or aesthetics, sacrificing a lot of impact strength (which would be a big deal with airsoft).

For paintball, we are to warn members that fiberglass (and by proxy carbon fiber) and bondo are NOT rated for airsoft, it will chip, and it will crack after extended use. Glass/carbon armor is great and fine for trooping, and can be good for rolling around in, but the high impacts of airsoft pellets are not things they're meant to handle.

Overall, between the three materials, kevlar will give the best strength but will look worse, be heavier, and cost a lot, carbon fiber will be the lightest and look cool on the outside, but it loses all of its appeal except weight on the inside, and is more brittle than kevlar or fiberglass and is expensive. Fiberglass is medium strength, medium weight, and dirt cheap as heck, there's a reason it's the tried and true option.

For one way visors, it's easy to find premade ones, but you are in for a world of pain if you want to do it yourself. If you are up for vacuum forming, you would get some polycarb, vac it to a buck you made, and then lay mirroring inside of it. If you want it colored, you get translucent tinted! I have spoken with many online plastics companies and none of them sell one-way mirrored at least for acrylic, I didn't ask about polycarb..

If you want prefab, amazon sells them for 7$-100$, making is not too bad if you have spare cash and live in the bay area of California!

Garfunkel64 · Nov 2, 2012

Yeah, I've done my site research and have seen all the cautions and precautions on airsoft safety with fabricated armor here. I might still consider it, but it will be on my own terms, and I won't bring up the topic any more. Though I am now wondering A. What is the significance of the "oz." (Ounces) mark by fiberglass descriptions? Is that the thickness of a predetermined size of the cloth, or is that it's density somehow? And B. Also, if anyone has any experience with S-Glass over E-Glass I'd be interested in hearing input on if it's worth the extra cash compared to tensile strength to weight ratio compared to E-glass (Normal Fiberglass).

Katsu · Nov 3, 2012

A) the ounces is just the volume of fiberglass resin. It's common practice to work in 2oz at a time of resin when working on armor, as it gives you enough to do a good area before the resin starts to harden.

B) two or three layers of normal fiberglass is going to be pretty strong, and if you back it with some rondo it will be nearly strong enough to stand on. I personally have never found a need to spend more on fiberglass.

Privyet · Nov 15, 2012

So I've finished resning the outside of my helmet, but I have a question about fiberglassing. Do I put a layer of resin on the inside of the helmet, let it dry, then resin the fiberglass on top of it? Or do I just put the fiberglass straight onto the cardstock and resin it on?

Carpathia · Nov 15, 2012

Privyet said:
So I've finished resning the outside of my helmet, but I have a question about fiberglassing. Do I put a layer of resin on the inside of the helmet, let it dry, then resin the fiberglass on top of it? Or do I just put the fiberglass straight onto the cardstock and resin it on?

Either way, but an extra layer of resin on the interior is unnecessary.

LigerZerp · Dec 7, 2013

I have a question about the fiberglass. I'm reading multiple times that fiber on the outside is a bad idea but what about fibeglasscloth that is used in rc modelbuilding. I have enough of that stuff here it weighs about 25 grams pro square meter can i us that to strengthen the pep models.

Jason 078 · Dec 8, 2013

Typically, your outside is smooth and faced for the armor. Most of us use it on the inside to strengthen without making it look fiberglassed.

axmaxwell · May 4, 2014

I did two short clips today about my method for field expedient hardening.
Part 1

axmaxwell · May 4, 2014

Part 2

Lockon13 · Jun 21, 2014

Hey how much bondo do i need for a full suit

Chernobyl · Jun 21, 2014

Lockon13 said:
Hey how much bondo do i need for a full suit

It depends on what type of suit you're doing, and how large the pieces are. I would estimate that, if you use the tubs wisely and don't slap it around like icing sugar, you might be able to get away with perhaps two litres (I purchase my filler in 600ml containers and would estimate that four containers will cover a project properly).

roxashighwind · Mar 30, 2015

This is a really well laid out tutorial. Thank you for posting!

Sword Breaker · Apr 29, 2015

Re: Step 2: Preping the Materials and Begining

Hey, great post! Really helpfull

How many layers should i apply for something that will should be able to withstand an airsoft BB? Point blanks considered, but not so much. Also, what about the visor? any tips?

Wicked Demon15 · Jun 8, 2015

Hello, I'm stuck on my helmet. I'm in the final stages and I used just all purpose putty but now it won't get hard. I feel like I over soaked the material. How can I fix this??

Resining & Fibre Glassing Tutorial/How To

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