Armor For Paintball

[leegrisham]

These results only reinforce what I believed.
I'm excited about videos and pics.
I think that my armor with 1 layer of resign and glass could stand up

 

[Adulese]

Amazing work. I was already going to put more that 2 layers of fiber glass on my suit anyway, so I am looking good. Maybe a video or pictures of this test would further conclude this battle of wits.

 

[HaloZombie]

Make it light but duraable and yuo'll be ready for paintball. Good luck.

 

[Humungotron]

Has anyone tried applying fiberglass over paint so that the paint couldn't come off?

Yeah, its a gelcoat. you can get gelcoat colors here.
Ideally, you'd be using this if you're molding, but if you put on 3 or 4 coats of resin, you should be able to sand and buff it.

You really want to know how much damage fiberglass can take? Motorcycle helmets, ski helmets and hockey helmets are made from fiberglass. a 100+mph puck, made of solid rubber, can kill a person.
Still want to say it won't work?

 

[redragon74]

no offense man but...you gotta think of what goes into those helmets....sooo much research before being made and there not being made in someones garage with 20$s worth of fiberglass

 

[Humungotron]

no offense man but...you gotta think of what goes into those helmets....sooo much research before being made and there not being made in someones garage with 20$s worth of fiberglass

Bell's fiberglass helmets are constructed of an outer shell utilizing BELL's time proven, hand-laid, fiberglass with thermo-set resin

-link
Yes, it's thermoset. cold cure isn't that much weaker.

 

[Kroden]

i only bought 2 yards of FG to do these tests, I will definately go back and get a lot more. I'm doing at least 2 sets of armor by summers end, I hope. That's gonna take many many more yards of FG to be structural.

Also, I wouldn't make my own helmet for PB, unless I had tested it myself by doing a few close range shots straight at it first. I'm planning on at least making the MC helmet around a real PB visor. Maybe it won't look quite the same with the mouth piece, but I think I can get pretty close. But that's a topic for another day. Right now, It's testing the structural quality and durability of the FG as armor.

 

[redragon74]

i know there handlayed your talking to a motorcycle tech...

but there not just slopped on there theres still a technique that goes into it

but, fiberglass helmets are actually weaker than "synthetics" the ones made of plastics, carbonfibers, kevlars etc. - the polycarbonates

reason being is because it will absorb the impact and spiderweb instead of shattering/or breaking like a fiberglass helmet
shoot if you want to give a helmet a rough test build it how you want to and drop it from about waist high thats a 15 mph crash for a motorcycle helm if it sustains that then start shooting

 

[leegrisham]

"There are those who said this day would never come. What are they to say now?" - Prophet of Truth

 

[Kroden]

Just got back from another round of testing, this time on thicker pieces, and a trial of mine.

I read somewhere that matte takes more resin and is more rigid and more waterproof (unnecessary for this, but oh well) because it fills itself in better, and woven roving is more flexible. So I tried a few things. First, a layer of weave, then a layer of weave, rotated 45 degrees so the strands were all going different directions, and then a layer of matte. It stood up very well, again, only suffering on the edges where it was just resin and small strands of selvege. Perhaps I will try one to see if any edge, no matter if resin, selvege, or sever good layers, is more vulnerable to a paintball. The next tests will be 5-7 layers, possibly more. If there is anyone that has a specific combination of layers, add a post and I can test. There is still plenty left.

The other thing I tested was a kind of just for fun. I got some styrene with the FG when I bought it. The resin easily comes off of styrene. So I laid 2 layers or weave on it with resin, just to see what would happen. I was able to peel it off, and so I tested it as well. Again, edges seem to be vulnerable. I wouldn't use this for anything at the moment, can't think of anything to use it for. And by no means would I use it for a visor, definately NOT SAFE for paintball.

So I think we can safely answer the question "Will fiberglass stand up to Paintballs repeatedly?"
The answer is yes!

However, there is definately a certain thickness that it requires. Those of you who have only used resin or 1 layer of Fiberglass are in danger if you are using it for paintball, which I don't think anyone is, yet. For a costume, that's fine.

I will be doing some more tests in the next week or so using some larger pieces, see if surface area has anything to do with it.

I hope this can finally answer that question for everyone, but remember, I still don't know if you will feel it underneath (probably not though) or if the edges need to be reinforced more. Results to follow.

Kroden

 

[randomman]

whoah whoah whoah..... "break instantly"?

If a 3.2 gram paintball traveling at 285 feet per second were to hit fiberglass armor and shatter it, that would equate to extensive tissue damage and some penetration on uncovered body parts.

thats absurd.

Again the average weight of a premium grade paintball (which are the heaviest) is around 3.2 grams. if its accelerated up to 285 fps and hits instantly (point blank) thats going to equate to roughly 0.277 Newtons, or 0.062 pounds of force.

Given that the paintball is about 96% liquid paint by weight, and the other 4% is a thin brittle shell made of the same material they make gelcap medicine out of, and also the fact that the armor has inelastic qualities associated with its structure, whereas a paintball is designed to shatter on contact with any surface having near-zero elasticity to it -- the force imparted to the armor from a paintball will have a negligible effect on it.

I've posted this video up in another thread before to attest the strength of a foam/fiberglass/epoxy composite compared to aluminum.

If it could stand up to such a big guy jumping on it repeatedly, it can stand up to some paintballs hitting with less than half a pound of force.

The guy in that video sounded like agent smith...
anyways.
I don't know about paintball, and I know this site is mainly for costuming, but if this could lead to stronger armor then great.
I like the scientific approach to proving/busting a common myth.
I swear the concept seems familiar, but I'm pretty sure no one has thought of it before.

Seriously though, good luck on the project, can't wait to see/hear the results.