making my 6th costume! this is going to be a pain in the butt

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ok, i'm doing something I never thought I would do, I am making and entire costume from pepping, today I will be picking up some cardstock, quick question: could I use five minute epoxy to coat my pepp? i would rather not pay 30$ for a bunch of fiberglass.


I'll be making a halo 4 master chief costume, everything except the chest will be pepp, I think the chest is to big to pepp so I will use foam to make it instead.
any tips for making this costume?
 
If you want larger containers of various resins, I use US Composites when I’m buying large volumes. It’s much less expensive than little tubes in a local hardware store. They have fiberglass, Kevlar, and carbon fiber cloths, and a wide variety of resins to use with the cloths.
 
If you want larger containers of various resins, I use US Composites when I’m buying large volumes. It’s much less expensive than little tubes in a local hardware store. They have fiberglass, Kevlar, and carbon fiber cloths, and a wide variety of resins to use with the cloths.
so maybe rona/home depot?
 
If you want larger containers of various resins, I use US Composites when I’m buying large volumes. It’s much less expensive than little tubes in a local hardware store. They have fiberglass, Kevlar, and carbon fiber cloths, and a wide variety of resins to use with the cloths.
also I don't have a respirator so I need a non toxic one
 
also I don't have a respirator so I need a non toxic one

They have all sorts of resins. For low volatility, get a high percentage solids epoxy and avoid any of the polystyrene based resins (standard fiberglass resin).
You can find water soluble epoxy for coating garage floors for very low odor. I’ve never used that, so I have no idea what it’s like for strength/rigidity, though.
 

They have all sorts of resins. For low volatility, get a high percentage solids epoxy and avoid any of the polystyrene based resins (standard fiberglass resin).
You can find water soluble epoxy for coating garage floors for very low odor. I’ve never used that, so I have no idea what it’s like for strength/rigidity, though.
thank you very much. how long does it usally take to arrive?
 
thank you very much. how long does it usally take to arrive?
I bought 3 gallons of epoxy and it arrived in Houston in about a week. Their customer service is very helpful. Shoot them a call and tell them what you want to coat and how strong/rigid it needs to be and they can make some recommendations.
 
I bought 3 gallons of epoxy and it arrived in Houston in about a week. Their customer service is very helpful. Shoot them a call and tell them what you want to coat and how strong/rigid it needs to be and they can make some recommendations.
thanks. where is the go to cart or buy button
 
alright, spent an hour trying to print on cardstock with a crappy printer trying to print the twelve page only to find out that there was no twelve page!
 
also I don't have a respirator so I need a non toxic one
You're going to need a respirator if you're going to do any sanding whatsoever.
If you get that resin in your lungs its going to mess you up. Even the most non toxic resin is still going to shoot off particles

do not skip this step, do not pass go, do not collect 200$.

Please, for your own safety if you have any notion of sanding or finishing, you really need one.
 
You're going to need a respirator if you're going to do any sanding whatsoever.
If you get that resin in your lungs its going to mess you up. Even the most non toxic resin is still going to shoot off particles

do not skip this step, do not pass go, do not collect 200$.

Please, for your own safety if you have any notion of sanding or finishing, you really need one.
I was dreading that, I am trying to do this in a small budget of 30 - 50 dollars but I guess I will have to break that budget.
 
30-50$ for the whole suit? Is this your 6th costume ever or 6th halo cosplay?

depending on the accuracy you‘re attempting this may not apply but just for the foam to create a whole suit accurately is going to be around 100$ usually. pep/resin for the whole suit will be over 200$ probably, plus cardstock, tools and safety gear. resin is by far the most toxic way to go even with epoxy and less toxic resins. either way you will need a respirator. for fibreglassing sanding and spray-painting. you could check out n95 masks they’re the cheap throw away versions of respirators.

as a reference, my suit so far has costed me over 500$ and that's not including the tools i already have.


I dont want to discourage you but you may want to consider what you're getting into.
 
I was dreading that, I am trying to do this in a small budget of 30 - 50 dollars but I guess I will have to break that budget.
yeah, this hobby is NOT the cheapest, but if you can't afford the proper saftey equipment it might be a good time to step back and save. do some more research, planning and designing while you save. I've probably spent hundreds in materials, here's a list of the things I used when I pepped my suit back in 2009

Paper
scissors
exacto knife
glue

tape
fiberglass cloth
fiberglass resin
fiberglass hardener
aluminum foil
disposable cups
paint brushes
stir sticks
Bondo
Bondo hardener
spot putty
primer
paint
sandpaper
respirator
respirator filters
under suit pieces
straps
magnets
epoxy glue
Velcro
foam for padding

I know that can sound daunting and exhaustingly expensive, and it is. but you don't have to get that stuff all at once. stick with the bold items first. they'll get you started and you can save for the other stuff as you go.

best of luck my dude and let me know if you have any specific questions!
 
Dude I'm rooting for you, I want to see how far someone can get with $50!

Because to me, with my bad habits of rushing and taking shortcuts, thats like enough for a helmet and a couple of gauntlets after fixing my mistakes lol
 
30-50$ for the whole suit? Is this your 6th costume ever or 6th halo cosplay?

depending on the accuracy you‘re attempting this may not apply but just for the foam to create a whole suit accurately is going to be around 100$ usually. pep/resin for the whole suit will be over 200$ probably, plus cardstock, tools and safety gear. resin is by far the most toxic way to go even with epoxy and less toxic resins. either way you will need a respirator. for fibreglassing sanding and spray-painting. you could check out n95 masks they’re the cheap throw away versions of respirators.

as a reference, my suit so far has costed me over 500$ and that's not including the tools i already have.


I dont want to discourage you but you may want to consider what you're getting into.
I am definetly discouraged, my foam costumes don't usually take more then $50.
 
Dude I'm rooting for you, I want to see how far someone can get with $50!

Because to me, with my bad habits of rushing and taking shortcuts, thats like enough for a helmet and a couple of gauntlets after fixing my mistakes lol
some of my costumes take like two weeks and do not turn out the best, but my other costumes which takes months sometimes turn out way better
 
welp bad news my helmet ended up in my supply bin and got crushed by a sharpening block.... so....
I'm restarting.

but this is a good thing! it means I can fix how flat the original helmet was looking!

any tips you can give me before I restart? that would really help a lot.
 
Can you share pictures of your work sax092? It's kind of hard for people to give you constructive feedback with no frame of reference. Please share costumes 1 through 5. I have only made two and they took me collectively probably 1300 hours. Once in pep/fiberglass and one in Foam.
letts0099.jpg


JPEG_1495862420631_-265170323.jpg
 
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