Help with clean up of a resin cast

[pipersniper]

I've begun my project of a Thomas Daft Punk helmet, I've never made anything of this sort before, but I have read through many build threads so I like to think I know what I'm doing :lol
Anyway, I'm skipping a few steps and starting off with a resin cast. I don't have a very big budget so I had to settle with a cast from a pretty inexperienced mold maker for cheap. As I mentioned, the kid who made it wasn't too great at molds, so I got a pull full of pinholes and depressions and imperfections. What would be the best way to go about getting it smooth? Just bondo and a lot of sanding?

 

[Formori]

Trim down the cast first (dremel, hand files, etc) to get all of the large casting material off, then sand all of your edges and pointy bits to their correct spots/sizes. When that's all done and the helmet is prepped, start bondo'ing and sanding to fill the larger holes and gaps (I completely redid my middle "mold line" in my thomas helmet since the cast one was wonky).

Be careful that you're not trying to sand bondo and resin at the same time, since one is much denser than the other and this will make for uneven sanding.

Once the large stuff is nice and smooth, start priming and sanding the helmet until it's super smooth and clean. If you want to chrome your helmet it is essential to have a good base layer that's as clean and smooth as possible, and even if you don't want to chrome the helmet this is an excellent base for a good paint job.

Good luck with it! I'm still working on mine, chrome paint is soon to come!

 

[pipersniper]

Thanks for the tips! The middle line on my helmet is also a bit weird, I might fix it...
I also found a great method for Alclad II chrome paint that if done correctly will look very nearly like chrome. I'll try to document my progress once I have time to get started. Good luck to you as well!