How To Make A Helmet From Pep To Finish

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009-SPA said:
Oh, sorry, I didn't notice. My bad. Thanks for answering. Anyway, I'd just like to say thanks for posting an awesome method. It reduced my rogue helmet from a world of pain to something that looked awesome and was very easy to work with. Thanks Ben.
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No problem sir. Thats why I made the thread. Also don't feel bad about asking questions, if they are Already answered I will still answer again. I don't believe in wild Goose chases when the quote function is one click away. Glad its helping. Feel free to post a pic of your progress here. It is after all how to make a helmet from pep to finish, so progress pics are welcome.
 
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Like most of the users I too am researching the steps necessary to creating my own helmet/armor. Most tutorials show similar steps, but the one difference in all of them is the bondo/sanding process. Do you recommend priming to establish where the weaknesses are, then bondo, then sand, then spot putty, and finally wet sand or some other variation of this? On a side note what grit sand paper should we be using? Thanks so so much for everything. Without tutorials from people like you I know I could never even begin to get as far along as I am :)
 
OXM_Chase said:
Like most of the users I too am researching the steps necessary to creating my own helmet/armor. Most tutorials show similar steps, but the one difference in all of them is the bondo/sanding process. Do you recommend priming to establish where the weaknesses are, then bondo, then sand, then spot putty, and finally wet sand or some other variation of this? On a side note what grit sand paper should we be using? Thanks so so much for everything. Without tutorials from people like you I know I could never even begin to get as far along as I am :)
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Yes, you should start with an 80 grit, then progressively move to a 220 grit
 
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BenStreeper said:
Yes, you should start with an 80 grit, then progressively move to a 220 grit
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Do I end at 220? Should I do the wet sanding process and what grit for that? Thanks. Oh and when will you be posting the continuation of your tutorials, i.e. bondo, sanding, spot putty, painting etc.
 
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OXM_Chase said:
Do I end at 220? Should I do the wet sanding process and what grit for that? Thanks
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LOL, I end at 220, there is no real reason to wet sand unless you want your suit to be crazy glossy. 220 will get it as smooth as it needs to be.
 
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You used the Rondo which I know is a lot better then fiberglass, but I watched another user used Smooth-On's SmoothCast 300. They both seem to give the same result, being a plastic form. Just curious as to which one is better if you were to choose?



As far as sanding the bondo and spot putty down, do the details get compromised easily? Again, sorry for throwing all these questions at you in such a little amount of time.
 
OXM_Chase said:
You used the Rondo which I know is a lot better then fiberglass, but I watched another user used Smooth-On's SmoothCast 300. They both seem to give the same result, being a plastic form. Just curious as to which one is better if you were to choose?



As far as sanding the bondo and spot putty down, do the details get compromised easily? Again, sorry for throwing all these questions at you in such a little amount of time.
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Rondo is more of a money saver, If I had all the money in the world I would never touch the stuff. I would always use smoothcast 320 to harden the helmets. But as it is I am not rich, and I don't really make a lot off the helmets when I sell them. So Rondo has become a good friend to me. As for comprising detail I hate to say it like this but if it was easy everyone could do it. That's part of the fun. The better the model the easier it gets in the final stages, and the harder it is to pep. The easier it is to pep the harder it is to do the details. A good example here is the different approaches I am taking with this reach helm vs. the way I am doing the eva. The reach helmet requires very little finish work as it was a great model. However if you have been following my work on the eva you can see that I have done a lot of sanding down, then building up with clay. This brings up two more points. The first is personal opinion: the harder it is to do the more fun it is for me, and the more original the work. The second: the easier it is the more it looks like every other helmet out there. I strive for the harder projects, mostly because few people do them. I hope that answered you question, I know I tend to rant a bit, but its part of my awesomeness.



BTW: For those of you who don't know Today is National Awesomeness Day in America
 
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Basically, as long as you remain aware of what you're sanding you should be good? I just don't want to sand away the details on accident, which is why I might hesitate to use a dremal tool haha. Concerning the molding process what's the difference between a mother mold and a casting?







Thanks for being awesome!!!
 
OXM_Chase said:
Basically, as long as you remain aware of what you're sanding you should be good? I just don't want to sand away the details on accident, which is why I might hesitate to use a dremal tool haha. Concerning the molding process what's the difference between a mother mold and a casting?







Thanks for being awesome!!!
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Well a mother mold is the hard part around the rubber mold. The mother mold helps to keep the rubber in its correct shape, so that your castings wont warp. A casting is the actual "Pull", "Part" made from pouring plastic, resin, smoothcast, rondo, plaster, or any other number of media formats into the mold itself. Think of it like making Jello, what you pour the jello into to make the shape is a mold, the jello that comes out in that shape would be the casting.
 
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BenStreeper said:
Well a mother mold is the hard part around the rubber mold. The mother mold helps to keep the rubber in its correct shape, so that your castings wont warp. A casting is the actual "Pull", "Part" made from pouring plastic, resin, smoothcast, rondo, plaster, or any other number of media formats into the mold itself. Think of it like making Jello, what you pour the jello into to make the shape is a mold, the jello that comes out in that shape would be the casting.
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Is the casting what you use to make more copies or is that essentially just a throw away piece once the mold hardens up so to speak? I couldn't find a video of you making copies of a helmet, but have you made any? Thanks man
 
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OXM_Chase said:
Is the casting what you use to make more copies or is that essentially just a throw away piece once the mold hardens up so to speak? I couldn't find a video of you making copies of a helmet, but have you made any? Thanks man
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no the casting is the part your trying to make IE you helmet

the mold is what you'd use to make more of them, pour in your molding material IE Smoothcast, let it set and "Pull" it you have you "casted" helmet then if you so desire pour more molding material

in your mold and cast a 2nd one, his helmet video is more about slushcasting, which is basically a 1 time mold after you've poured your material it sets and adheres to your mold, in normal molds it wouldnt

be paper and before you pour your material in you'd spray the insides w/ release agent so it can be "pulled" out otherwise it'd adhere to the mold
 
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1) I think I understand now. Ben, I couldn't find any videos of you creating a helmet from a mold so I'm a little confused what to do after you peel the rubber off of the master helmet, what you pour into the rubber to get a second helmet, how you attach the casting back onto the mold rubber, etc.



2) Do you have to bondo it and everything still after you pull the mold?
 
OXM_Chase said:
1) Do you throw away the hard plastic that surrounds your mold to help keep its shape cause I assume it's probably unnecessary afterwards? This is the hard shell I'm referring to link



2) I think I understand now. The mold is essentially the pepakura step taken out correct? Meaning, I fill the mold and it hardens inside and I can just remove the model rubber the same way I would from the casting giving me the same helmet without the annoying pepakura.



3) Do you have to bondo it and everything still after you pull the mold?
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ben could answer most of that better but I know the answer to 3,. you shouldnt thats why you make the original you made a mold around so nice and pretty and smooth so when you pull the "pull" out its nice and smooth you may have to do some sanding/flashing but otherwise your good to go
 
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amancue said:
ben could answer most of that better but I know the answer to 3,. you shouldnt thats why you make the original you made a mold around so nice and pretty and smooth so when you pull the "pull" out its nice and smooth you may have to do some sanding/flashing but otherwise your good to go
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Awesome. This is turning out to be the most creative hobby I've ever done.



I found out the answer to my first question so everyone can ignore that. You wouldn't throw it away cause you'd need it to attach to the mold which is used to pour the liquid into. Gotta keep it as a rubber band essentially.



What liquid would you use to make the copies?
 
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OXM_Chase said:
Awesome. This is turning out to be the most creative hobby I've ever done.



I found out the answer to my first question so everyone can ignore that. You wouldn't throw it away cause you'd need it to attach to the mold which is used to pour the liquid into. Gotta keep it as a rubber band essentially.



What liquid would you use to make the copies?
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the best thing I have found to make helmets with is SmoothCast 320, however you an also use casting resins, rondo, plaster of paris, latex,etc. I will be pouring some castings soon. I will make sure to video the process for you to help you better understand.
 
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Thanks Ben! If I have anymore questions, and let's face it I will haha, I'll make sure and keep asking. Thanks again. You're the man!
 
OXM_Chase said:
Do I need to do anything extra to reinforce the helmet when I make my mold or should the rondo/smooth-cast suffice?
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if you can punch it and it doesn't break you are good to go ;)



once you start working with the materials you will develop a feel for how much you need. It's difficult to explain that part without you actually being next to me and touching the helmets. But trust me when I say you will know by the feel of the helmet.
 
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