Help: Fiberglassing, Resin, & Bondo

[WandererTJ]

I do a combination of Rondo and fiberglass. After resining my piece, I slush the inside with a thin layer of Rondo. This helps reinforce the piece for the fiberglass, plus it adds a little more material in case I have a spot where I need to sand deep. Then I do 3-5 layers of fiberglass all at once, and then slush over it with another coat of Rondo. This makes the inside nice and smooth, and you don't have fiberglass shards poking you.

You can do whatever you want to harden your pieces. Some people here are strictly Rondo, others use strictly fiberglass, some do a combination.

1) You use Fiberglass Resin on the outside, followed later by Bondo. Can you use Rondo instead of Bondo on the outmost layer below the paint?

2) Rondo is made by 1 Parts Resin, and 2 Parts Bondo, is this correct? Also, the resin you mix with it, is it still Fiberglass Resin or some other kind of resin?

3) When doing the layers on the inside of the helmet, I have heard that people use Fiberglass Resin with Fiberglass Cloth. I am interested in the strength given by the cloth, and with that, could I use Rondo(made from fiberglass resin) in place of the resin that is used with the cloth? And with this, would Rondoing the cloth be more benefitial than just Resining the cloth?

4) Lastly, just curious, I understand that Resin melts tape. If you only have Scotch Tape for instance on the inside, and you are Resining the outside of the helmet/piece, would it still cause the tape on the opposite side of the paper to melt although it is not directly contacting the resin?

1) I use Rondo for everything now. It's much easier to work with than strait up Bondo. For the outside, I mix up a thin batch of Rondo, and sand it, add some more, sand it, add more, sand it. I found that using thin rondo eliminates air bubbles that form in thicker Rondo or strait up Bondo.

2) I mix with fiberglass resin. I don't do a specific measurement (actually, I think I may have my ratios off. More like a 1:3 or 1:4 resin:Bondo ratio). But you get the point. I mix it up for the application I want. In some cases, I want a nice thick layer, so I don't add as much resin. In other cases, I want it thin (like for finishing up the outside), so I add more resin. You get the feel for how much resin you want in the mixture fairly quickly. Disposable cups are a wonderful thing. Buy a pack of 100 at Target for $5, and you're set for a while, and use some cheap, thin dowel rods to mix it up. You don't have to add the hardener for the resin, but you MUST use the Bondo hardener. I use both. BenStreeper has a video that details the making of a helmet, from pep to finish, and that's where I got a lot of my information on Rondo. You can find it here.

3) One layer of cloth isn't all that strong. It's most definitely stronger than just resin card stock, but it's not enough for a suit to last more than one trip out. My first suit only had one layer of fiberglass and it held up long enough for Reach. But, the strength increases greatly with each additional layer up to about 5 to 7 layers. I tried using Rondo in place of the resin, and it doesn't work too well. The cloth has a tendency to stick to you more than it sticks to the armor. I will do all my fiberglassing at once (throw on 3 to 5 layers), and then cover it with a coat of Rondo. I use less hardener than usual in the resin so it stays liquid and takes Rondo better.

4) You might get away with it, but I wouldn't count on the piece holding together. If suppose if you did a REALLY thin first layer of resin (so it doesn't soak through the paper), you'd probably get away with it, but I wouldn't count on the piece staying together.

The use of both Rondo and fiberglass is something that hasn't come up a whole lot. I had some supplies left over from my first suit, and I thought "hmm...I wonder what would happen if"..... I'm really happy with the results. Rondo rocks for both shaping and hardening pieces. Sigma LS was the one who gave me the idea to use Rondo for detailing pieces. I mix my Rondo up a little thicker than he did, so I don't get as much drippage.