Rondo or Bondo?

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Zero Prime

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Okay I am finaly going to finish a costume but I was wondering, What is better to use Fiberglass and rein, Or Rondo(That putty i see alot), or should i use both. just to let you know my armor will be taking a beating cause i hope to make short youtube films with it.
 
Neither is better, they both have their advantages and disadvantages. It's really up to you to decide, depending on your preference and level of experience. I know this is probably not the answer you were looking for, but it's probably the one needed to be said.
 
Fiberglass is messy and a bit slow but it's lighter then rondo. So it doesn't matter which you use, it's just what you want to put up with slow and messy when working with it, or heavier when you ware the armor. Take your choice.
 
Okay but which is better if i want structual integraty? I am probably going to have to take some hits and fall in it (and carry my girlfriend at the next comic con)
 
on some pieces i use just straight fiberglass like the thigh pieces and torso to keep them light, but for other pieces i use a thin mixture of rondo as the first coat, then go over it with a layer of fiberglass mat. made my last suit pretty dang strong (like knock someone out and break their face strong...) Draw back is that its kind of heavy. I wore my suit for about 9 hours and it didn't bother me though. On my suit that im building now I used a mixture of 60% resin to 40% bondo to make the mix nice and slick. I just use it to give the piece some strength and then go over that with glass mat. When you rondo the inside, it also helps level out the corners so the fiberglass mat doesn't bubble up as easy when you place the layer of glass. I mainly used that method on the pieces that are hard to get inside of like the forearms and the shins. Hope this helps!! good luck! :D
 
on some pieces i use just straight fiberglass like the thigh pieces and torso to keep them light, but for other pieces i use a thin mixture of rondo as the first coat, then go over it with a layer of fiberglass mat. made my last suit pretty dang strong (like knock someone out and break their face strong...) Draw back is that its kind of heavy. I wore my suit for about 9 hours and it didn't bother me though. On my suit that im building now I used a mixture of 60% resin to 40% bondo to make the mix nice and slick. I just use it to give the piece some strength and then go over that with glass mat. When you rondo the inside, it also helps level out the corners so the fiberglass mat doesn't bubble up as easy when you place the layer of glass. I mainly used that method on the pieces that are hard to get inside of like the forearms and the shins. Hope this helps!! good luck! :D
Thanks that helped alot i think i will hybrid it like you
 
Okay but which is better if i want structual integraty? I am probably going to have to take some hits and fall in it (and carry my girlfriend at the next comic con)

Having just finished Rondoing a couple pieces today I have to agree completely with venture. Fiberglass is definately stronger and lighter, but as others mentioned it takes a LOT longer to work with.

I rondoed half of the chest and I'm thinking now that even though it would have taken longer, I should have used fiberglass. Any piece that is very open (Chest, codpiece, biceps) is going to be challenge to rondo without the slush running over the sides.
 
Okay but what would you say to doing a Hybred like thin layer of Rondo and a layer of Fiberglass?
 
Okay but what would you say to doing a Hybred like thin layer of Rondo and a layer of Fiberglass?

If you want to combine the advantages of both methods, it might be a good idea to use resin plus a filler (I use cotton flocks, microballs might work, too) or alternatively Rondo as a base and add chopped fibres and a thixotropic agent. The resulting paste-like material is almost as easy to apply as Rondo, but stronger per weight. Takes some practice to find the right thickness though.

Adding a layer of fibreglass to a layer of Rondo will certainly make it stronger, but it'll still be heavy and you won't get around using fibreglass cloth either, so I don't see the point, really. You could just as well use plain resin and several layers of fibreglass. Shouldn't be that much more work.
 
Haven't tried it myself, but it should work out okay. I'm not sure exactly what the benifit would be though. Rondo is typically used to cut down on time. That would go out the window if you turn around and add fiberglass. Fiberglass is typically used to cut down on weight, but you negate that by using the bondo first.

Over all I'd say pick one an roll with it, but in the long run it is your project so the decision is yours.
 
If time isn't an issue, I'd just go with fiberglass. I'm putting on 4 layers of it on my armor. Done right it should be strong enough to do everything you're thinking of.
 
All that said by the others I want to add one thing....Make sure to leave extra room in you're armor for padding, with out that padding it will hurt falling/hitting things.
 
All that said by the others I want to add one thing....Make sure to leave extra room in you're armor for padding, with out that padding it will hurt falling/hitting things.

ya definetly going to need padding... but out of curiosity what would you recoment for padding, I just use basic foam from Joans
 
Bigred made a tutorial for padding with foam and covering with material. Here's a link http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/27863-Armor-Padding-Tutorial
As for the rondo issue, if you do a hybrid like I've been doing on some pieces, make sure the rondol mix is very thin with lots of resin! On my current suit I think it was more like a 77% to 30% mix of resin to bondo. My forearm pieces are stil light enough to wear cause the mix is so thin it just coats the inside and fills some of the edges so I can put a layer of glass over it. But like Ventrue said, if the bondo mix is really thick your piece will be pretty heavy. If you have some spare parts layinmg around, try both methods and see what you like best :)
 
Bigred made a tutorial for padding with foam and covering with material. Here's a link http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/27863-Armor-Padding-Tutorial
As for the rondo issue, if you do a hybrid like I've been doing on some pieces, make sure the rondol mix is very thin with lots of resin! On my current suit I think it was more like a 77% to 30% mix of resin to bondo. My forearm pieces are stil light enough to wear cause the mix is so thin it just coats the inside and fills some of the edges so I can put a layer of glass over it. But like Ventrue said, if the bondo mix is really thick your piece will be pretty heavy. If you have some spare parts layinmg around, try both methods and see what you like best :)

Conversely, if weight is an issue, don't do a 3:1 mixture of bondo:resin - that's what I do, and my stuff is ridiculously strong, but rather heavy in places. Especially the helmet (though I overdid that).
 
Conversely, if weight is an issue, don't do a 3:1 mixture of bondo:resin - that's what I do, and my stuff is ridiculously strong, but rather heavy in places. Especially the helmet (though I overdid that).

^^agreed!! thats what my first suit mix was and its pretty heavy but not unbearable. just experiment :D
 
on some pieces i use just straight fiberglass like the thigh pieces and torso to keep them light, but for other pieces i use a thin mixture of rondo as the first coat, then go over it with a layer of fiberglass mat. made my last suit pretty dang strong (like knock someone out and break their face strong...) Draw back is that its kind of heavy. I wore my suit for about 9 hours and it didn't bother me though. On my suit that im building now I used a mixture of 60% resin to 40% bondo to make the mix nice and slick. I just use it to give the piece some strength and then go over that with glass mat. When you rondo the inside, it also helps level out the corners so the fiberglass mat doesn't bubble up as easy when you place the layer of glass. I mainly used that method on the pieces that are hard to get inside of like the forearms and the shins. Hope this helps!! good luck! :D

Exactly how I do it.

On pieces that will take real wear and tear(boots, knees, any part that will be stood on or lots banging on things) I will make them thick with fiberglass. As far as structural integrity goes, fiberlass gets more bang for you buck in thickness and weight. Rondo is very easy to use though, so as stated before: Which do you want to deal with.

If money isn't an issue, you could always use kevlar :D just dont make it to aweful thick. Thick kevlar=super heavy.
 
is it a stupid idea to use a light layer of rondo on the inside on my boot mkVI armor without adding fiberglass cloth, it seems strong enough to me
 
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