Velveeta Mkvi Wip

[Velveeta]

hello 405th,

I have been working off and on- school has gotten very much in the way- on this project since about November. I have the entire suit pepped, and I have begun hardening and detail work on several of the pieces. I have the right forearm and handplate done. Rather than use bondo, I have been using a mixture of drywall compound and white glue to do my detail work. though the dry time is significantly longer than that of bondo, it is very, very easy to sand, dries quite hard and is completely fume-free. Here is what I have so far:

I am currently working on the shin, which will be used for both shins, and the right boot. more pics to come,

cheers, Velveeta

 

[kupokitty]

The power of cheese is quite compelling...



How sturdy is the armor? Does it chip easily?

 

[PmsProxy]

Hey Velveeta,

This is looking great! I can't wait for you to finish the rest! I also like the fact that your using your own mixture instead of Bondo, very creative and smart.



xo

-PmsProxy

 

[carlino]

Very nice pep work!



I was going to use drywall compound for my filler and detail work as well, though I didnt think it would dry hard enough. I figured it would chip away easily and not last long so I planned to just use that to make a mold from and then cast it in plastic. I have not experimented too much so far with the drywall compound, how well is it holding up for you? Im familiar with Bondo and how hard it was for me to sand in the past, which is why I thought of using this as well. Does it compare at all to bondo as far as strength, brittleness? (if thats a word)



Very interested to see your results! Keep up the good work

 

[Nintendude]

That almost looks like bondo what's mixture and ratio consist of I know drywall and gluee but what kind of drywall material? And just regular schoolglue?

 

[phixix]

Looking brilliant! And a very nice replacement filler choice, it looks like it gives a really smooth finish!!

 

[HaloGoddess]

Your replacement for bondo does look nice. I may be interested in trying that out, but I would like to know some things:



Exactly how long does it take to dry?

How do you mix it? Is there a certain ratio you use?



Looks like you are doing a pretty nice job on your armor too! Keep it up. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

 

[Velveeta]

Thank you guys for your replies

the mixture is just Sheetrock brand drywall compound mixed with Elmer's white glue. I haven't been using an exact ratio, but I fold the gluein until it's about the consistency of butter, maybe a little runnier. Ive found that the drying time varies on the thickness of the layer that you have put on- a really thick layer may take a couple of days to dry completely, but most of what ive been doing is workable in a couple of hours. Ive found this to work really well with how i've been wrking on the project, since i have to leave it set for hours on end anyway. As far as sanding it goes, 80 grit tears through this stuff and works really well for shaping, and 150 grit does wonders for smoothing things out. I really like this mixture. I started out with bondo on my first pelvis and ended up scrappig it since I couldnt really work the bondo the way I wanted to. The only thing that I'm concened with at this point is that doesn't harden as much as Bondo does. Im thinking about putting a coat of resin or two on the finished product to see how well it seals things up. I welcome any questions that you may have, and will post pics of the shin and boot that i have been working on come this weekend- I won't have access to a camera until then.

Cheers, Velveeta

Ps- I havent really had any chipping problems so far, but the only real test of that that i've had so far is when I dropped my handplate on my concrete garage floor- it chipped a little bit, maybe a sixteenth-inch chunk out of it, but it was superficial enough that i could sand it out- V

 

[carlino]

I made a small test pep and used spackle (drywall compound)as a filler. I didnt think of adding glue to it before I saw this thread. The test piece I made seemed to flex and when it flexed the spackled cracked off in chunks. I guess it could have been from the reinforcement job I did, it was a hasty job since it was only a test piece. But the piece flexed a bit even with the reinforcement and before adding spackle. I would imagine it would adhere to the pep better if it didnt flex.



Also, have you thought of adding fiberglass resin to the mixture instead of glue? Maybe it would harden it alot more than the glue would?

 

[Velveeta]

I made a small test pep and used spackle (drywall compound)as a filler. I didnt think of adding glue to it before I saw this thread. The test piece I made seemed to flex and when it flexed the spackled cracked off in chunks. I guess it could have been from the reinforcement job I did, it was a hasty job since it was only a test piece. But the piece flexed a bit even with the reinforcement and before adding spackle. I would imagine it would adhere to the pep better if it didnt flex.



Also, have you thought of adding fiberglass resin to the mixture instead of glue? Maybe it would harden it alot more than the glue would?

Did the spackle that you used have a sandy texture or was it more smooth? I think what I'm using is "joint compound" but I'm not sure.it's smooth and gray-ish in color. I will be sure to add a pic of it when I get access to a camera. as far as your test piece goes- was the piece fully fiberglassed? With my stuff, the drywall compound is not really providing any structural support, and since I have it fully fiberglassed, it doesn't really have any bend to it.

I think that adding fiberglass resin to the mix instead of the glue would definitely harden it more, but it would make it much harder to sand.

Let me know how your testing works out for you

cheers, Velveeta

 

[carlino]

Did the spackle that you used have a sandy texture or was it more smooth? I think what I'm using is "joint compound" but I'm not sure.it's smooth and gray-ish in color. I will be sure to add a pic of it when I get access to a camera. as far as your test piece goes- was the piece fully fiberglassed? With my stuff, the drywall compound is not really providing any structural support, and since I have it fully fiberglassed, it doesn't really have any bend to it.

I think that adding fiberglass resin to the mix instead of the glue would definitely harden it more, but it would make it much harder to sand.

Let me know how your testing works out for you

cheers, Velveeta

joint compound and spackle are basically the same thing, just different wording. The piece I tested on was not fully fiberglassed, so that was my problem from the begining. I was basically just seeing if it would stick to the pep and look at the dry time for it. I will fully fiberglass a piece soon and try mixing the compound with resin to see how well that works as far as sanding, smoothing, durability.

 

[Velveeta]

hello again! I had some free time on sunday and I gave my handplate a coat of resin. the coat did dry a bit bumpy... but that may just be because I did not sad the drywall fine enough.

After a coat of primer, the bumps in the resin were far less visible.

I think that with final paint and texture, this method will work great. I tried dropping it from about mid-torso level- there was no visible damage. I'm excited about this, and I really want to test this on one of the pieces that I have been working on recently to see if the sanding does make a difference.

Cheers,Velveeta

 

[gmstrowabarton]

Wow that drywall mixture is a great idea and it looks like to is working for you. Keep it up I will be watching this to see how the armor comes along.