Bondo & Fiberglass Question

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SkyBox

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Hi, I am in the early stages of my Halo 5 Noble Gen 2 Armor build I am currently just cutting all the paper out for each of the armor parts and putting them into seperate boxes so I dont have to worry about them till later. (except for a few pieces which seem very complex to unfold. Mostly the Chest plate because alot of the pieces are off the main pep pages and It gives me a headache to look at. anyways, I just have a few questions about bondo & fiberglass which I am sure have been asked on the site before but I would really like to know.

Bondo

1. How many layers of bondo do I apply, I know its about 3 coats for the helm but is it the same for other parts?

2. Should I find a specific section to do the Bondo at a time, So if I am doing the ChestPlate do the top right, wait, do the top left wait etc, then apply a second layer etc?

3. For the small crevices what do I do with them? Do I not bondo them at first then use bondo later, Do I not fill them at all, or do I just ignore them and go over them?

Fiberglass

1. for enclosed props like grenades and weapons do I resin the Inside, or do I just not bother fiber glassing and just apply a layer of resin on the outside.

2. Do I fiber and resin the other armor pieces like the forearms?

Outside of all of this I have a pretty good understanding of what to do.
 
Some areas need no bondo at all.. Just a little sanding. Some areas might need a few layers of bondo depending on how much smoothing/shaping needs to be done. You DON'T NEED MUCH. If you are putting on more than 1-2mm, you are using too much. Body filler is made to fill small dents and imperfections, not become part of the structure of an object.

Bondo has a fairly short working time. I would coat a small section, wait for it to cure (can be between 5-10 minutes depending on how you mix it) then sand it smooth. When the bondo is still in a sort of "jelly" or soft state, it can be easily shaped with a sharp razor blade as well. I would recommend against doing multiple layers without sanding in between, as it shouldn't be necessary to lay it on that thick.

As for small crevices, try to keep the bondo out of them. Why spend tons of time folding and glueing the details together, only to cover them up?

For fiberglass:

All of your armor parts will require fiberglass on the inside of the parts. It's what gives them strength.

Pep isn't an ideal way to make weapons. For something small like a grenade, though, I would resin the outside. Then drill a hole to slosh some resin around on the inside as well. I would stay away from pepping guns, there are better ways to make them.
 
For bondo. If i am doing piece that have a lot of edges like the mark 6 shoulder or any peice. I use Rondo the mixture of Bondo and Fiberglass resin. It is a lot more quicker and smoother with a lot less of sanding. It is a litte sticking but after the primer and letting it cure for about 1 or 2 hours it is ready to be paint. That want I do and it work pretty good so far.
 
For bondo. If i am doing piece that have a lot of edges like the mark 6 shoulder or any peice. I use Rondo the mixture of Bondo and Fiberglass resin. It is a lot more quicker and smoother with a lot less of sanding. It is a litte sticking but after the primer and letting it cure for about 1 or 2 hours it is ready to be paint. That want I do and it work pretty good so far.
I have heard different things about rondo. I hear that alot of people use it, but i have heard quite a few downsides to it... mind telling me a bit more, i know this stuff is opinionated but i want my first build to be as best as i can get it.
 
I have heard different things about rondo. I hear that alot of people use it, but i have heard quite a few downsides to it... mind telling me a bit more, i know this stuff is opinionated but i want my first build to be as best as i can get it.

If you do rondo do more than one layer on top and don't pour it on your armor, just use a paint brush so the rondo don't make hill on or in your armor piece. And it can smooth it out better.
 
Add one more thing. Don't rush the rondo to cure or it will be really stickly for a lot time. Follow my thread and you can see how my process is going by using rondo
 
Rondo will kill any detail on the outside of a piece. It is just "thinned" out body filler. Body filler is a mixture of talc powder and polyester resin. Adding more resin will make it harder to sand, and more liquidy (harder to keep where you want it).

Adding rondo to the inside of a piece of armor is not a good idea either. It has very little structural integrity, and it is heavy. All you need on the inside of an armor part is fiberglass cloth/mat (mat is a tad easier to work with with lots of varying shapes and angles) and polyester (fiberglass) resin or epoxy resin.
 
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