Advice

[Spartan 377]

Ive had to restart on my halo armor, i was doing to mark 5 but the cardstock couldnt take the weight of the resin, so im working on the mark 6 which so far has been holding well, but theres a problem, summer is at the edge of being over, and im told fiberglass resin only hardens well in 70 degree weather, is there any way i can continue my project in the lower temperatures? also, i often have trouble with my armor pieces comming out looking a lil disfigured like some things being a little off, am i able to work around this? or do i have to start over.....

 

[Excallibacca]

We're going to need pictures before we can give out any advice.

 

[Fudz073]

As far as the weather issue, a common solution is a device called a light box. Calling it a device is a little bit of an exaggeration, because it's simply a box big enough to fit your largest piece of armor along with a 100watt bulb. The average temperature is about 90 degrees. Word of caution, don't let the bulb touch the piece since the resin is flammable. Just set the box over the armor/s and let sit until the resin cures!

Regarding the disfigurement of you armor, I have to agree with Excallibacca, we need some pictures to help ya.

Good luck on the build and keep us posted!

 

[Hyokenseisou]

The cardstock SHOULD have held up against the resin, unless you're just drowning it in resin... Layers, do a few thin layers with a foam brush, let each layer cure, and once those layers have cured, then you can start applying more resin at once, as well as the fiberglass.

The more catalyst you add, the faster the resin cures. The catalyst creates heat which starts a chain reaction to turn the liquid into a solid state.
Depending on how cold it gets where you live, you're either going to have to take your project inside, or just wait til warmer weather, or try adding more catalyst to your mix...

 

[mitch35542]

Pictures would help to tell what you mean by disfigured. You may have been using to much resin on one go for the helmet to take, could you spare more detail on how much resin was used?

 

[Varsity]

1. Look for threads about heat boxes
2. Are you putting struts in?
3. Use light layers of resin

 

[misfitjh]

For your Mark V you might be trying to cover to much of an area at one time. DO a small section in one area then move to a totally different part of the chest and do another small area. This way your not making the armor to wet in one section which can cause it to droop. Also keep the first layer of resin light, your second and third layer can be heavier. As for climate....I'm in about the same boat your are there and if you can work in a garage or a shed you can always have a heater running. I use one of those radiant heaters and have it on almost all winter long, I also keep a hair dryer handy. It helps when I need to heat up the resin on really cold days. Drop me a pm and I can explain the technique. The hot box idea also works if you have the space for one. As for imperfections, if they are small ones you can fix them up with bondo. If it's a large flub, like a part has caved in then you have to rebuild. Pics will help us give you a better idea of how and if it's fixable.