Trouble hiding seams in 1:1 Han in Carbonite - any tips?

DL4567

DL4567

Sr Member
Hello,

I've finally got around to doing something with the HIC front panel pieces I got in 2007 from Vash Stampede. Great guy, it's just a real shame he had to cut it into 4 pieces for shipping. (If I could go back and pay the $200 for shipping it in one piece, believe me I would)

So I've been working the seams, first filling most of the void with Bondo, then doing the fine surface smoothing with Bondo brand glazing putty (pic #1). It dries pretty hard yet is still workable without tons and tons of sanding. So I scraped/shaved/sanded to where I think the seams will not show, and then hit the lines with primer to see how they look. Not bad, but not as "hidden" as I hoped. The red glazing putty absorbs the primer and dries with a different sheen than the white resin, really showing where the putty is and calling the seam to more attention. I re-sanded, rubbed the seams with steel wool, and primered 2 or 3 times, and it's getting better, but I was just wondering if any of you have any tips and techniques that could make these seams totally invisible? It's a real bummer to put so much work into this and still be able to see the seams when it's all done. Thanks in advance.
 
I can't tell totally from the pics, but are the panels at the same level? If they aren't the same level then it will be hard to make the line disappear without expanding the area when you put the bondo.

I didn't have the exact problem, but I expanded my "line" of bondo to cover the entire seam and sanded down from there. I'd also suggest Evercoat if you really want a nice finish, applied properly it eliminates the need for glazing putty. You can get evercoat at an automotive finish store.

First though I'd suggest Filler Primer, takes a sanding well and really hides well. You can get it at autozone, I use it exclusively now as it really fills and hides imperfections and you can get a glass smooth finish.

Good luck!
 
If you could do it again I woud use real Bondo no the spot filler that is for small cracks and spots...

Build the Bondo high and sand down, once you get it close then use the spot filer to remove the sand marks...

But now that you are already here...

Also try a coat of Krylon H2O primer now that you have a coat of regular primer on there, the solvents in regular paints and primers actually re-dissolve the spot filler thus the flash you are seeing, the Krylon H2O should lock the flash out...

Or for an even better primer go to NAPA and get their house brand high build Urethane 2K primer #15222 (make sure you get the primer and hardener, one can one smaller metal bottle) you can mix (4:1) and brush on (it will self level pretty well with a white bristle chip brush) if you want but preferably it should be sprayed with a gun... It's like a very watered down resin, you mix the two parts and you have a limited work time before it kicks into a VERY solid sealing primer... Use disposable brushes, it's not worth cleaning...
 
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if you use bondo, I have found sometimes that laying clingfilm over it as it cures and pushing it smooth with your fingers can save a huge amount of time, and also may help you match details more easily....but def switch over from stop putty- it is more porous than filler/bondo so 'pulls' the paint in, making it show up more.....
Good luck, its a cool piece ;-)
 
Yes, more bondo, less spot putty. In particular you want the strength. When you pic up that four piece thing, it's gonna want to crack. Spot putty only good for thin application. Scrath filler really. No strength at all.
 
what he said, plus I can't emphasize enough that even regular bondo isn't enough to hold it together unless the pieces are reinforced on the back somehow really well, like being glued to a substrate, like a piece of thin plywood at least.
 
Mine was very similar. I bondo-ed the seams then I added more "carbonite swirls/puddles" with 2 part epoxy. I went through about 5 tubes of it but it helped cover them for sure.
 
Just the kind of expert advice I was hoping to get! Thanks a lot everyone!

The box is pretty strong, so I'm not too worried about the lines cracking when moving the whole thing, the entire face is a sheet of 1/2" MDF (to which the castings are glued to by lots and lots of PL construction adhesive) and the top and sides are 3/4" MDF. (see pic) What scares me is temperature and humidity changes over the years that might make the lines show up eventually. Anyone experience that yet?

I glued down each front panel piece one day at a time, and on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, I tried to match the level of the previous one at the edge as best I could. In most places it's pretty good, but here and there there's a tiny bit of height difference. I even put screws in to lower/raise the gluing edge, but you can only get it so good. The waist seam was particularly bad, several places alternating between too low and too high, so I made the most obvious key spots look best overall. After having these pieces in my basement for over 2 years, they definitely changed shape a bit. This would have been easier had I done it right away in 2007. Oh well.

The reason I didn't cover these seams entirely in normal catalyst bondo is that I try to avoid using that stuff when there's a lot of hand sanding involved. Takes forever!! But yeah, like exoray said, since I'm already at this point with the glazing putty... (I'd hate to scrape it all off and start over)

Neat idea using epoxy glue to make more swirls/puddles, but I'm convinced that any puddles I'd add would stand out from the rest of it, so I'm too scared to try that if it's irreversible. The rest of the background pattern has fairly soft details, so I think a new blob of something would have a hard edge and stand out from the rest of it. Hankey01, do you have a picture of how it turned out?

So here's how the top seam looks now.... (2nd pic)
I switched to filler primer, (also found the last can of Krylon H2O at walmart) and have been sanding, puttying, priming, puttying, sanding, priming.... several times. Definitely an improvement, but somehow I still see it. There's absolutely no line there, it feels very smooth running your fingers over the seam, but I think the *slight* angle of the filler just makes that part a shade lighter than the rest of it. Since the filler kind of "ramps" down from the higher edge to the lower edge.
 
DL4567 said:
Hankey01, do you have a picture of how it turned out?
Click to expand...

I couldn't find anything better than these. The epoxy really did settle into nice manageable puddles.

Before:
http://artood2fett.blogspot.com/2006_01_01_archive.html

After: (scroll down)
http://artood2fett.blogspot.com/2006_02_01_archive.html

Your seams are barely noticeable. I'd put some paint on to see how it looks. Might be best to leave it alone. Likely one of those things that only you would be aware of.
 
Yeah. You should have seen the box when FedEx dropped it off. I spent many, many hours repairing it. You can't even tell now though.
 
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