Which materials you use can depend greatly on your workspace and budget... Personally, I use high-impact casting resin instead of fiberglassing resin when making armor & helmets... It's considerably cleaner, less toxic, and doesn't stink like FG resin does. BUT, it's also around $80 for 2 gallons, vs $25 per gallon for bondo-brand fiberglass resin... If you live in a warmer climate & can work outside, then fiberglass is a great option. I definately recommend disposeable clothes, and box of latex gloves (Nitril gloves are better), and a box of disposeable 1" 'chip brushes'.
The general rule for fiberglass cloth, is the thinner it is, the easier it conforms to your work surface. The thick thatched stuff is good for building thickness or reinforcing edges, but the finer weave cloth is ideal for all the rounded surfaces.
I'll work up a tutorial for the whole proccess this week & get it posted up... Personaly, I seldom use Pepakura for the final shapeing... It's an awesome starting point though. I use it to 'rough out' my sculpting, reinforce it on the inside with resin or foam, then shape & smooth the surface with wall-spackle & plaster. Once this is done, smoothed & sanded, you seal it with paint, then make molds using brushed on coats of latex... You don't need expensive silicone for armor pieces. I get my molding latex for $95 for a 5 gallon pail, delivered. This will do 1 to 2 full set of armor molds. Then you can make your finished armor out of resin, fiberglass, etc... Thinner, lighter, & extemely pro looking... all for well under $300....
Wolf
Sarge Christi said:
Resin hardens the fiberglass.
I'm not sure why you would want to skip the fiberglassing.
It's difficult, but it makes your armor a lot tougher, which is a good thing.
Depending apon how many coats you put on, your armor will be pretty darn tough.
My mom's corvette is fiberglass, it's pretty tough stuff. You just layer.
4-5 layers should do, and i dropped my fiberglass helmet and nothing happened.
Well to fiberglass, you use fiberglass clothe. I just gently layed it down and put fiberglass over it.
It's not really hard to use.
remember, ALWAYS use gloves.
Make sure the place you are fiberglassing is well ventalated.