Tips for Folding and Glue

[Sskyhawk]

Hey Guys,

I am new to 405th, and this is my first post. My friend and I started making our first helmets together, and we are starting to resin out helmets now, but we keep noticing online, people with these PERFECT folds and therefore perfectly crafted armor. Now I have to say I think we did pretty good for our first try, but both of our helmets are just slightly tilted, and I think this is due to our folds. I am a perfectionist, and I thought we weren't doing a bad job, but like I said our helmets are slightly lopsided. We are definitely going to finish these helmets, but I was just looking for some tips, hints, and tricks that would help make our pieces nice and crisp in the future. Also I was curious to see if anyone had any preferences over a specific glue or adhesive for the pepakura stages of creating the helmet. We found this glue at my job that dries in about a minute or two, but I figured I would see what some other people might suggest. Thanks for all of your help!

 

[Noskey]

For making the folds really clean, you can use your exacto knife to score the fold lines. To do this, just run the blade along the fold lines to cut through roughly the first layer of the paper, but not all the way through. This will allow the paper to fold straight along the scored line. That should help with having very clean folds. As for the glue, I've just been using Elmer's white glue and it's been working fine for me.

 

[Vigilnt sniper]

i use the scoring method as well but i use the dull upper edge of the xacto instead of the sharp one. and i use super glue brand super glue as it dries very fast and holds strong.

 

[Ganlex]

Hey Sskyhawk, i am also a beginner, so i don't really have folding tips. But as for the glue, i just use a couple of drops of hot glue since it dries fast and holds pretty well. If it ever looks like the glue is sticking out when it hardens, i just sand it down.

 

[Sskyhawk]

Thanks for your help, I really appreciate it!!

 

[Vigilnt sniper]

DONT USE HOT GLUE!!!!!!!!!! it will melt and deform under the heat of curing fiberglass resin and Bondo!!!!!! dont use it!!!!!!

 

[BLACKULA727]

DONT USE HOT GLUE!!!!!!!!!! it will melt and deform under the heat of curing fiberglass resin and Bondo!!!!!! dont use it!!!!!!

WHy? Thats all I ever use when I do Pep. Just Saying.

 

[Vigilnt sniper]

when you bondo the inside of the model the heat from the bondo curing will melt and deform the pep model.

 

[Noskey]

Wouldn't it already be hardened and strengthened from the resin and fiberglass though? I've never gotten that far, but wouldn't that be the case? And I was under the impression that you only used bondo on the outside for detail work.

 

[mitch35542]

Some of these other posts are making me worried about the future builders... The reason many people have perfectly pepped helmets and what not is because of practice they have, and they take their time. As far as tips, don't rush it, score the fold lines to make them a nice clean fold but don't cut them.

DONT USE HOT GLUE!!!!!!!!!! it will melt and deform under the heat of curing fiberglass resin and Bondo!!!!!! dont use it!!!!!!

The resin and bondo will not melt or deform anything used properly, the most that could happen is some warping. Although I believe there is one glue that will melt from the heat. As far as the post mentioning the use of bondo on the inside of the helmet... I'm not sure if he meant rondo or actually bondo, bondo is to be used on the outside only for extra detail and to smooth it.

 

[Sidewalker4961]

I've found hot glue to work quite well. Perhaps it depends on what the piece is. There was very little warping on my helmet when I glassed it. Just a little on one earcap. Perhaps try adding a popsicle stick or more cardstock to reinforce the piece and prevent warping.

 

[BLACKULA727]

when you bondo the inside of the model the heat from the bondo curing will melt and deform the pep model.

I'm not trying to be a jerk, but if you do it right, it won't. Meaning, use a thin layer of resin on the outside first, you can even do a second. Once that cures, move to the inside of the helmet. Since you let the resin cure fully on the outside, this will hold it together. I've pepped and hardened 3 helms so far this way and have never had a problem.

 

[Shadow 2r5]

I'm a fellow noob, but what I do for folding is I take a selective-color pen and use a straight-edge to trace the line heavily. As for gluin, I use Elmer's white glue. It ries in a decent amount of time, and you don't risk burning yourself. What I like to do is pour some onto scrap cardstock and use a toothpick to apply it onto the tab.

 

[Vigilnt sniper]

Some of these other posts are making me worried about the future builders... The reason many people have perfectly pepped helmets and what not is because of practice they have, and they take their time. As far as tips, don't rush it, score the fold lines to make them a nice clean fold but don't cut them.



The resin and bondo will not melt or deform anything used properly, the most that could happen is some warping. Although I believe there is one glue that will melt from the heat. As far as the post mentioning the use of bondo on the inside of the helmet... I'm not sure if he meant rondo or actually bondo, bondo is to be used on the outside only for extra detail and to smooth it.

well that works if you are fiberglassing everything. however if you are using just bondo as some do (because not every single person will follow the instructions layed forth. example FOAM and CNC) yes it will melt, yes it will deform, yes you will be out $25 in bondo and paper and hard earned time.

 

[Vigilnt sniper]

and for those of us with limited funds like, oh i dont know, being on unemployment for six months because of this S**T economy and me not having the money to waste the resin on something and saving it to fix my cars dash and sub box, yes i needed it for other stuff, so i used bondo as that was the one thing i had ten gallons of (before i got layed off from my job at the auto body) and only one half full tin of resin. i poured bondo, let it sit and was stupid enough to use hot glue. it fell apart on my garage floor and stuck there for two months.

 

[CoolC]

I'm a fellow noob, but what I do for folding is I take a selective-color pen and use a straight-edge to trace the line heavily. As for gluin, I use Elmer's white glue. It ries in a decent amount of time, and you don't risk burning yourself. What I like to do is pour some onto scrap cardstock and use a toothpick to apply it onto the tab.

I am using this method as well. No knife and no hot glue, means no risk. I completed 4 sets of armor using this so it is tried and true method.

 

[NovemberAdam]

I'm a fan of Aileen's tacky glue. Just apply it with a tooth pick or something similar, and use a thin coat on the flap. If you use too much it will cause the paper to warp a bit, plus it get slippery and is messy. The other benefit is that it helps create a nice sealed piece, so when you add the resin it doesn't have as many holes to leak through.

 

[Sskyhawk]

Thanks everyone for all of your help! Glad to see everyone really trying to help everyone else on the 405th community, especially us noobs! Thanks!