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[Wingeddeath243]

I've never really made anything armor based other than a couple of helmets but they weren't as smooth as i'd have liked them to be. Celluclay leaves a bumpy finish that i'm not happy with but i like using it as a base. It works well for molding. I don't want to use any sort of plaster for a finish since i tried that (twice) and it doesn't hold up at all. I used the liquid plaster, not the strips but either way...lol.
Anyways ~ to my point:
My husband mentioned using Bondo for something to kinda smooth out my helmets. I've got an ichigo Vasto lorde helmet that's pretty much been chilling for a year on a shelf. I'd like to finish it xD. I have a very small layer of Celluclay on it with another small layer of Model magic (in hopes that it would have smoothed stuff out but it cracked like no ones business.). Can i use Bondo for just helmets similar to this? Or am i just wasting my time/money? If you know of anything else you use for giving a much smoother appearance feel free to let me know! Anything helps Thanks ^^

[Chipface]

Bondo should do the job nicely.

[supergeekgirl]

Bondo is for exactly that. It's a fiberglass filler. What you want to do is go to the aisle in your hardware store with fillers and look at each one. There may be one that works best for the material you used on your helmet.

[verdatum]

Whatever you do, I'd suggest sanding away the model magic first.

With both Bondo putty and celluclay, the trick isn't in the application, it's in the sanding. you generally don't have the time to sculpt Bondo smooth, and even when you do sculpt celluclay smooth, it's still porous due to the particle size and the evaporated water.

So with your project you can either sand your celluclay down smooth, add additional celluclay and sand that smooth, or switch to Bondo Putty (and sand THAT smooth!). If you switch to Bondo, practice with it a bit on a random scrap of wood or heavy plastic.

The technique to get a smooth surface with these products is to apply them in excess and sand the excess away. Bondo definitely sands more easily than celluclay, and it doesn't leave the fuzziness that cellulose can (you fix this with a few coats of sanding sealer, and sanding again). Plus, you don't have to wait for it to dry overnight. You can do rough sanding as soon as it starts to harden up. You start as low as 30 grit, and sand up to around 400 grit.

Because bondo is as thick as it is, you will wind up with little airbubbles under the surface, which will be uncovered as you sand the surface away. These are called "pinhole flaws". You fix these flaws with a less-viscous (thinner) putty of some sort. The Bondo label sells there own stuff, or you can get by using wood putty, or jointing compound, or a number of pastes sold at the hobby shop. I like to make my own by mixing Bondo and polyester resin (aka Fiberglass resin); it gives me complete control of the thickness, but it is a bit messy, and a bit expensive for small projects, since ya gotta buy a whole quart of the stuff. Whatever you use, Apply it in excess, pushing it into the holes with a scraper and leaving a mound, it'll shrink a bit as it dries/cures. sand the mound smooth.

rinse off the dust, or use a tack-cloth. Then you can apply a surfacing primer (an extra thick spraypaint that fixes microscopic flaws). Wetsand lightly, clean off the dust again, and apply another coat of primer. You should now have a delightfully smooth surface.

Remember to always wear a dustmask when sanding. And use the bondo outside, or in an open garage. Try to do it close to room-temperature or it messes with the amount of time you get to work with it.

[Wingeddeath243]

Originally Posted by verdatum

Whatever you do, I'd suggest sanding away the model magic first.

With both Bondo putty and celluclay, the trick isn't in the application, it's in the sanding. you generally don't have the time to sculpt Bondo smooth, and even when you do sculpt celluclay smooth, it's still porous due to the particle size and the evaporated water.

So with your project you can either sand your celluclay down smooth, add additional celluclay and sand that smooth, or switch to Bondo Putty (and sand THAT smooth!). If you switch to Bondo, practice with it a bit on a random scrap of wood or heavy plastic.

The technique to get a smooth surface with these products is to apply them in excess and sand the excess away. Bondo definitely sands more easily than celluclay, and it doesn't leave the fuzziness that cellulose can (you fix this with a few coats of sanding sealer, and sanding again). Plus, you don't have to wait for it to dry overnight. You can do rough sanding as soon as it starts to harden up. You start as low as 30 grit, and sand up to around 400 grit.

Because bondo is as thick as it is, you will wind up with little airbubbles under the surface, which will be uncovered as you sand the surface away. These are called "pinhole flaws". You fix these flaws with a less-viscous (thinner) putty of some sort. The Bondo label sells there own stuff, or you can get by using wood putty, or jointing compound, or a number of pastes sold at the hobby shop. I like to make my own by mixing Bondo and polyester resin (aka Fiberglass resin); it gives me complete control of the thickness, but it is a bit messy, and a bit expensive for small projects, since ya gotta buy a whole quart of the stuff. Whatever you use, Apply it in excess, pushing it into the holes with a scraper and leaving a mound, it'll shrink a bit as it dries/cures. sand the mound smooth.

rinse off the dust, or use a tack-cloth. Then you can apply a surfacing primer (an extra thick spraypaint that fixes microscopic flaws). Wetsand lightly, clean off the dust again, and apply another coat of primer. You should now have a delightfully smooth surface.

Remember to always wear a dustmask when sanding. And use the bondo outside, or in an open garage. Try to do it close to room-temperature or it messes with the amount of time you get to work with it.

Omg thanks so much! This helps out ALOT <3
I'll keep this for future reference.

[Wingeddeath243]

Thanks for all the responses Now to finally finish this mask lmao

[RoninEclipse2G]

I'm using fiberglass and bondo to build a few pieces for a helmet that I'm modifying. I love the stuff. One of the best things I can tell you is to get a filler grater. It looks like a long skinny cheese grater http://i00.i.aliimg.com/photo/v0/247...ur_mastic_.jpg I use mine without the holder because I can control it better on curves with my hand.

Basically I started with this piece, that I shaped with cardstock and fiberglassed for strength, to make a crest on top of my helmet.


I then mixed up my bondo in small batches (it sets in 4-10 minutes depending on the relative temperature) and applied it to the crest, using the grater to take down the high spots before it gets too hard. Bondo is surprisingly easy to shave/sand while it's still hardening.


After I had all the major imperfections leveled out I gave the crest a coating of glazing putty to fill the small pinholes and random low spots.


I sanded that down with 60 grit paper on a soft sanding block. You can get the sponge type sanders too, they work about the same. I use my hands to feel for high spots and work those down. using more glazing putty in spots to fill little imperfections that show up as you're working.


That's as far as I've gotten at this point. I have some spots that need backfilling and reshaping (you can see the point on the right that doesn't curve in properly) and a little more work shaping the beveled edge, but after the refinements I'll go over the whole thing with some 120 grit paper and prime the snot out of it with etching primer (gotta make sure everything sticks!, then filler primer. Then I'll sand it some more with higher grit paper to give it a perfect paint surface. Remember to remove all the dust inbetween sanding and painting. I like a lint free cloth that's wet down with alcohol to remove dust and hand oils.
After all that it'll be time to paint!

[Diegator]

I'm glad I saw this thread today. I started glassing a helmet today and this has been incredibly helpful.