DracoAdamantus
Active Member
Hey everybody. Been lurking on this site for a while and finally decided to get involved with the community, and I wanted to start off by sharing an amazing technique I accidentally discovered trying to smooth a 3D printed bow. In short, by improperly applying bondo, you can create an incredibly easy and surprisingly convincing texture for rough wood/bark. I haven't seen this technique anywhere else, so I wanted others to be aware of its usefulness.
So most folks know that if done properly, you can use bondo to help fill print lines and cut down on a ton of sanding. About a year ago I took my first crack at it with a print I had done of Fenthras from Critical Role, but it got put on way too thick ended up with a super rough surface about 1/8" thick.
However, while frantically sanding to try to smooth this disaster out, I realized that this could work to my advantage, as once all of the sharp points had been work down, the resultant texture was extremely similar to the warped tree bark that the bow was made from.
I decided to go through with it and see how it turned out, and it ended up being amazing. First I primed it in black and did a full coat of a medium brown.
Then it was a heavy coat of dark green, which I wiped off of all the high spots before it could dry.
To finish I added a dry brush of a lighter brown, and the look was pretty much perfect for a piece of super old, twisted wood.
And there you go! It didn't start off as intended but ended up looking way better than I ever could have imagined. If you are ever trying to create a solid woody surface, I highly recommend this technique.
So most folks know that if done properly, you can use bondo to help fill print lines and cut down on a ton of sanding. About a year ago I took my first crack at it with a print I had done of Fenthras from Critical Role, but it got put on way too thick ended up with a super rough surface about 1/8" thick.
However, while frantically sanding to try to smooth this disaster out, I realized that this could work to my advantage, as once all of the sharp points had been work down, the resultant texture was extremely similar to the warped tree bark that the bow was made from.
I decided to go through with it and see how it turned out, and it ended up being amazing. First I primed it in black and did a full coat of a medium brown.
Then it was a heavy coat of dark green, which I wiped off of all the high spots before it could dry.
To finish I added a dry brush of a lighter brown, and the look was pretty much perfect for a piece of super old, twisted wood.
And there you go! It didn't start off as intended but ended up looking way better than I ever could have imagined. If you are ever trying to create a solid woody surface, I highly recommend this technique.
