Help!: Resin, Rondo, Bondo...?

[Reclaimara]

Bondo is necessary for a finished piece to look good, I agree 100% there.

However, time and time again, I have to say fiberglass is vastly superior to rondo. I am amidst helping a buddy do multiple repairs to his rondo'd suit, due to cracks and breaks.i am also in the middle of repairing my rondo'd helmet due to a few cracks from a light tumble, that I'm 100% sure fiberglass would have withstood. Rondo has terrible structural integrity, (it's literally just talcum powder with more resin added)and weighs quite a bit more than fiberglass of the same strength.

Oh, I wouldn't do rondo on itself. Mudglassing or nothing.
I just meant as for comparison resin+fiberglass vs rondo+fiberglass.
The weight is literally the same, from what I've tested, resin turned out to be actually even heavier, which is very weird, and I didn't add more or anything.

 

[FlyinPhil]

Oh, I wouldn't do rondo on itself. Mudglassing or nothing.
I just meant as for comparison resin+fiberglass vs rondo+fiberglass.
The weight is literally the same, from what I've tested, resin turned out to be actually even heavier, which is very weird, and I didn't add more or anything.

Ohh gotcha! I remember back when I started my helmet almost 3 years ago, it was common practice to go with just rondo, which I have discovered through a few conventions and events, is not a very good construction method haha

 

[Saeka]

I'll be fiberglassing and bondo'ing my gear for sure.

 

[Reclaimara]

Ohh gotcha! I remember back when I started my helmet almost 3 years ago, it was common practice to go with just rondo, which I have discovered through a few conventions and events, is not a very good construction method haha

Gotcha.
Just, hearing people say when fiberglassing, resin is lighter than rondo, etc. made me test things and my test results shown otherwise. That there is no weight difference (with minimal difference that resin was just a tiny little bit heavier).

But, I totally recommend fiberglass. Resin or rondo. Doesn't matter.
Just fiberglass overall. THIS adds real strength to it.

 

[tubachris85x]

I'll mention I've seen someone do something unique at least for a Pep build- Rather than coating the outside of the piece like normal, I believe he first sprayed what I'd only see as something like a mold release to the interior of the model, and fiberglassed the inside of it. Once cured, he' was able to strip off the paper/cardstock, leaving him with just the fiberglass body of the model, to which he cleaned and smoothed the surface.

I thought it was rather innovative.

Rondo wasn't really a bad idea at the time, still isn't for some applications it seems, but that stuff get's really heavy and even more-so you'll realize that after you start wearing some pieces. To add, fiberglass allows for slightly more flexibility compared to bondo which is brittle by nature. One more fun fact- you can head and shape fiberglass parts too (not by much but it's doable)