Re: Jackieisrockin's Iron Patriot (IM3) Pepakura Files! Links in first post! Bicep ad
@laellee The first helmet I bondo'd I gave up because a mixture or me putting too much bondo on and the slush cast was too thick so didnt run. The second I used smooth on to slush and the idea was to sand away the paper. Well thats what the tutorial did. Not sure if I should have used more. Its expensive though so think ill go for bondo again this time rather then risk burning more money.
Got a portable big heater from work today to counter the weather. One of those big heat lamp ones. So figured I could set up in the old asbestos shed. Its a rented house so cant do anything else with the space. Cant wait to get working on it this weekend. 12 hr shifts and a baby stop me working on it on days.
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Oh OK. Well, here' what I do that works:
After finish pepping, I try to sharpen up any messy edges or corners with a razor blade. On the inside, I tape in carstock 'tubes' (usually extruded triangles) across the width at different points to help square up the helmet and reinforce it for the resin weight. I also make sure there are no 'high spots' on the helmet; filling low areas later is easy, highs will become a pain in the a**. Then resin my outside, let dry, pull out my insides and resin-and-fiberglass the interior for strength. If there's enough extra resin, I quickly scuff the outside with sandpaper and recoat that too. After it's cured, I break out the cheapest can of primer I can find, and give the outside a good coat. The guide coat makes it a lot easier to see where my problem areas are, and also better depth perception that's lost in the white.
I then start skim coating the large areas with a LIGHT auto-body filler. After hardening, I sand smooth (with block if possible) with #150, spray on another light coat of primer, and sand this down to see if I've got problem areas.I usually skim and sand at least twice more, and then I repeat the process on the smaller areas of the helmet working down until done. It's ok to sand down to paper on sharp edges if you want them rounded, but don't go crazy, and be sure to skim and sand over any exposed paper. When I think I'm getting close to done (which I'm always wrong) I prime the whole helmet again, wet it down and shine a light across it to see how it looks. When ready I primer-seal the whole thing and wet-sand.
The way I do this will give great results, but IT IS TEDIOUS, and there is no instant gratification for me. My best advice is always spend a little more for good lightweight filler, and when in doubt skim thinner coats. It's a lot quicker to skim two thin coats than it is to sand down one fat layer.
Ha, didn't want to take this much space to respond, but oh well. Hope this helps at least a little.
