My Armor: How many layers of fiberglass makes strong armor?

[CustomPropSculptorGuy]

Yes - No joke, I almost ended back up in the hospital after breaking the vessels in my ocular cavities from coughing so hard. The resin was trying to cure in my lungs - apparently that's NOT a good thing - who knew. Was in a rush, poured a coin, didn't think of it - BAD idea...

Last night, or the night before, it was dark out, and as I was pouring the resin, I actually saw, against the non-lit area of the shop, the fumes coming off of the resin. Holy crap.

 

[HexxenHammer]

Hey guys, glad i found this thread as i'm about to delve the murky waters of fiberglassing some of my amassing pep models When you say 2 coats of resin on the outside, do you let first dry then apply again or let it part dry? Same for the matting, do you have to do it all at once or can you apply fiberglass to fiberglass once it's hard? I'm curious as to whether it won't bond and thus be prone to coming away with use?

Many Thanks! Paul.

 

[erictank]

Re: How many layers of fiberglass makes strong armor?

Fiberglass comes by oz/ft^2. That said, 20 0z/ft^2 is strong enough. You can have 2 layers of 10 oz cloth, but 3 layers os 6oz is better, and you're in for a treat is you laminate 4 layers of 5oz cloth.

If you are going to use all cloth, use epoxy. If you are cheap and go with all polyester, you need to use matt to hold the resin, and a layer of cloth to finish. Note: You want the cloth layer on the outside of the laminate, next to your body, so you don't risk spinters.

It is best to swatch practice laminating for desired thickness/weight, and go with what feels best.

Just saw this tip - thanks for the advice! I've got both mat and cloth for my first 'glassing trial, though I'll need to pick up a space-heater for the 'shop before trying it since I haven't started resinning/'glassing yet and it's turned cold here in VA.

Got a Halo helmet pepped(Mjolnir Mk6 HD, which was easier to pep than I expected) and I've finally gotten back to work on my Iron Man helmet (which has been kicking my butt - those cheek details *SUCK*, and why the frak are there tiny little 3D structures INSIDE THE EYES?!? Screw that, I'm leaving the eyes as open as I possibly can).

 

[GBrittelleJr]

I'm sorry to bring back an old thread, but I just found it. I used to build custom subwoofer boxes for car audio, and this might sound weird, but we actually used thick fleece. Since we didn't build the boxes from molds, we used the fleece as a base, with matting on the inside. One layer of each produced a sub box strong enough for me (weighing in at 220 lbs.) to stand on the box without issue. Then smooth with bondo.