First timer - Iron man Mk IV

[GrimlockZA]

Hi guys

I'm new to the forum and I've been following it adamantly. I got hold of some pep files and I am going to move on to the resin/bondo phase soon.

I just want to find out which mold making product works best - Smooth-cast 300 or smooth-cast 65D? I've seen both being used, but can someone tell me what the difference is? Going to post pics as I progress....my first pep project, so please be gentle. Hehe

 

[Kevin Gossett]

Re: Molding question - Iron man Mk IV

Those are both resins, not used for mold making. What are you wanting to do exactly?

 

[GrimlockZA]

Re: Molding question - Iron man Mk IV

I saw a video on youtube where the guy uses smooth-cast to make the copy of his helmet in his mold. He used 65D to make the copy helmet. Sorry if I phrased the question a bit wonky.

So basically, for the final casting in the mother mold, which product works best and why....Smooth-cast 300 or Smooth-cast 65D? I live in South Africa and there's only one supplier of the stuff in the country, so I don't want to buy the wrong stuff.

 

[msleeper]

Re: Molding question - Iron man Mk IV

You are talking about the casting part, where you make the actual copy. You're forgetting the molding part, where you use silicone rubber. Smooth-On's Youtube channel has a ton of videos. Basically you want to do this but in a larger scale:

Contact Smooth-On, their customer support is fantastic and they can provide you with a lot of information.

 

[GrimlockZA]

Re: Molding question - Iron man Mk IV

Thank you very much. I will go have a look at their youtube channel. Going to post progress weekly cause I can only work on it on weekends. Unfortunately we don't have bondo on my country, but I found a local brand that basically does the same. Hope the rondo trick works with it though...going the test it first and see how it goes.

 

[loly2kn2]

Re: Molding question - Iron man Mk IV

for helmet casting I would always opt for fibreglass over a rotocast polyurethane. It will be much stronger and lighter.

Lawrence

 

[Piotr Minor]

Re: Molding question - Iron man Mk IV

Just watch the videos here: XRobots.co.uk - Iron Man MkVI Armour Moulding in Silicone RTV
James from xRobots made tutorials about moulding (using silicone) and casting the copy.

 

[GrimlockZA]

Re: Molding question - Iron man Mk IV

Seems the ratio of hardener to fibreglass resin on my product is a bit off. The pep is still a bit tacky after half a day. Any ideas how to salvage it or must I pep again?

 

[GrimlockZA]

Re: Molding question - Iron man Mk IV

OK guys and gals...seems the body filler in this country is really hard to work with. It's gets crumbly real quick after adding hardener. I tried varying quantities of hardener vs filler with no luck. I was looking at a youtube vid of Cereal Kill3r and how he used rondo to add a part to his halo armor and I was wondering if I can use straight up rondo to cover the outside of the resin covered pep helmet? Here's a vid of what I mean...minus the paint roller technique obviously.

 

[GrimlockZA]

Re: Molding question - Iron man Mk IV

Nobody tried it yet?

 

[GrimlockZA]

Re: Molding question - Iron man Mk IV

Ok, almost done with the helmet. Toying with the idea of using rondo instead of smoothcast for casting. Anybody know if the heat from the process will deform the silicone mother mold?

 

[P4r4dox86]

Re: Molding question - Iron man Mk IV

It shouldn't deform the mould necessarily as fibreglass resin is often used for casting, but I don't know what sort of cast you'll get using Rondo. But goodluck!

 

[xevanx]

Re: Molding question - Iron man Mk IV

It's possible but you have to get your measurements right or you'll either have a thin helmet which is brittle or a thick helmet which is heavy.

 

[GrimlockZA]

Re: Molding question - Iron man Mk IV

Well it's for display purposes so it can be a bit heavier than something you'd wear. Thanks for the advice guys

 

[GrimlockZA]

Re: Molding question - Iron man Mk IV

Here's what I have so far. The rainy season is messing with my time frame here cause I can only work on the balcony of my apartment. Still have some sanding and detailing to do.

 

[Ironman4lif]

Re: Molding question - Iron man Mk IV

Hi guys

I'm new to the forum and I've been following it adamantly. I got hold of some pep files and I am going to move on to the resin/bondo phase soon.

I just want to find out which mold making product works best - Smooth-cast 300 or smooth-cast 65D? I've seen both being used, but can someone tell me what the difference is? Going to post pics as I progress....my first pep project, so please be gentle. Hehe


View attachment 232717View attachment 232718View attachment 232719

Hey haha smooth-cast 65D is a more flexible plastic and designed for rotocasting and smooth cast 300 is a very solid plastic more of a pour in.( shorter pot life)

 

[GrimlockZA]

Re: Molding question - Iron man Mk IV

Here's what I have so far regarding color. Not real happy with the gold though...not enough yellow. The filler on the bottom layer on some parts didn't harden correctly due to me being a noob...so refilling will start soon.

 

[Ironman4lif]

Re: Molding question - Iron man Mk IV

Here's what I have so far regarding color. Not real happy with the gold though...not enough yellow. The filler on the bottom layer on some parts didn't harden correctly due to me being a noob...so refilling will start soon.

Agreed too much of a copper color....

 

[dday]

I'm going over thoughts of a build myself, seeing others builds like yours help me know that I can do it Good luck with the rest of your build!

 

[GrimlockZA]

I'm going over thoughts of a build myself, seeing others builds like yours help me know that I can do it Good luck with the rest of your build!

Thanks very much. Glad I can motivate others as they have motivated me.

Will post some updates this weekend. Think I found the perfect gold color for the project.
Had a bit of an issue with overspraying, but as I said....I'm a noob.