Help Smothing and priming

[FRANK THE PONY]

THIS IS A FORUM TO HELP NOOBS GET THAT SMOOTH LOOK ON THE OUTSIDE

Okay so I've worked on a couple of halo pieces and have been noticing it looks like I'm missing a step. So basically I would like an in-depth procces from start of resin to end of painting.(also i noticed a lot of people had this blue rubbery looking stuff on their peice at some point so what is that) If you would please include the product name of your resin and such

Heres what i normaly do:

Resin outside-I've started with aqua resin but idk if im gonna keep using it its kind of expensive

resin inside

fiberglass inside

and if i did a bad job on the outside or i think its to soft i will put a second coat on the it

sand it

Paint primer, im almost positive its not the right thing though, It's like a spray paint

sand it

textured paint- like a hamered spray paint

final desired color of paint-normal spray pray paint

any extra detail ie scratches an what not


please correct my proccess where you see fit or just give your own steps

thank you very much

 

[mitch35542]

Our own steps eh? I can do that. As far as this blue rubbery stuff, have any pictures?

1.Give the inside and outside of the piece a few coats of resin.

2.Put the fiberglass inside the piece with resin.

3.Use bondo where needed.

4.Sand it. (Repeat steps 3 and 4 where needed)

5.Put a layer of primer on.

6.Add color scheme to finished piece.

 

[FRANK THE PONY]

o'k the blue stuff, im just dumb, it was his paint just after primer. So the main thing im doing wrong is the primer. can anyone tell me the name/brand of primer they use. Because I must be stupid and not know what primer is.

 

[mitch35542]

Primer is the base coat of paint. It's better to spray a primer coat first and then to apply your color scheme. The brand I use is Krylon because my walmart didn't have any of the cheaper cans in primers, but they did for my color scheme -sigh.

 

[misfitjh]

My personal steps...depends on the peace to be honest. Most large parts I fiberglass but helmets that have a brim like Master Chief or Kat Jorge or jun for examples, I use rondo instead. Rondo makes it easier to get complete coverage in the brim. So here is what I do.

1. Cover the outside in a thin coat of resin. (thin to help keep the part from warping)

2. After that is dry I apply 2 thicker coats to the outside. ( you'll see why in a sec)

3. If it's not a helm I fiberglass as usual. If I am doing a helm I mix up some rondo( resin and bondo mixed) Usually 3 parts bondo to 1 part resin. I use the cream hardener from the bondo and add 5 drops of the liquid hardener from the resin. Pour it in the helm and slush it around till it's covered. Note : you may have to do this twice to get total coverage

4 Once everything is dry I sand the resin on the outside, this will give you a good idea where the low spots are. As you sand the resin will get dull looking, every where except the low spots, they will remain shinny.

5. Lay down some bondo on the low areas ( remember to use thin coats of bondo.....unless you really like sanding)

6. Sand some more ( repeat step 5 and 6 untill you are happy with the look of the part.

7. Primer....lay down a good coat of primer, I then take a contrasting colour and give the part a light dusting and then sand it again this will help identify any low spots you missed. If you find any repeat step 5 and 6. If not then your ready for paint.

8.Painting....there are many different ways to do a paint job and every one has a method or tricks they have learn and the only way to learn them is to do it. If your going for a fresh off the floor brand new set of armor then the painting is easier but you need to spend more time making it smooth when sanding. If you want the battle damaged draged to hell and back look then the paint is more important than the sanding. I use the flubbed peaces( you know those ones that are to big or to small or just didn't work out) to experiment on. So lay out your colours and just paint, remember it's easier to cover lighter colours than darker ones. Apply several coats of each colour.

9. After your paint is dry ( and I mean totally....it's been sitting untouched for a day or two dry) wet sand the part to smooth out the orange peel left by the paint ( if you hold a painted part at the right angle under a light you'll see bumps that look just like an orange peel hence the name) I only do this step if I'm going for a brand new off the assembly line look. Other wise I skip this step.

10 Clear coat... there are 2 types of clear coats. Shinny and dull. I use the dull for any part that has that worn look and the shinny for the brand new look. After the shinny clear is dry I buff it with some rubbing compound to smooth it out and buff it to a shin with some wax.

As for cheaper supplies try your local automotive supply store like pepboys in the states or canadian tire in canada. They are a little cheaper, but you can also buy larger quantities of stuff like larger cans of bondo.

 

[Hyokenseisou]

Our own steps eh? I can do that. As far as this blue rubbery stuff, have any pictures?

1.Give the inside and outside of the piece a few coats of resin.

2.Put the fiberglass inside the piece with resin.

3.Use bondo where needed.

4.Sand it. (Repeat steps 3 and 4 where needed)

5.Put a layer of primer on.

6.Add color scheme to finished piece.

This is exactly what I do too.
Step 1. I usually do 3 layers on the outside, and 3 layers on the inside.

Step 2. Since I use black interfacing instead of actual fiberglass, I do either 3-4 layers or until I can't see light through the piece (while looking at it from the inside)

Step 3. I pretty much bondo the whole piece then proceed to step 4.

Step 4. I sand with a dremel the first couple runs. So it's like: heavy (and usually sloppy) bondo job, dremel, bondo (thinner layer), dremel, bondo (very thin layer, if needed), sand by hand with a 60 or 80 grit (depending on the part), then sand with a 100 grit.

Step 5. I like to prime with a good neutral colour, grey.

Step 6. Paint to whatever colour I like.