Helmet prep question

kibosh

Active Hunter
Hey gang,

I've finally gotten around to prepping my Fang Fett and TIE buckets this weekend. They both have mold seems across the top and back of the domes.

I got a tube of bondo glazing putty. The kind you don't have to mix. Here's how I applied it to the seem:

1. Smear some putty from the low side towards the high side of the seam.
2. Run my applicator length wise along the seam to remove excess putty.
3. Wait for it to harden, and sand.

I'm sanding with a medium grit sandpaper in circular motions. (I don't want to creat any flat spots.) Here's where my question comes in. Is this the right way to do it? I can tell I'm going to need to add more putty. It smoothed out in some places, but I can still feel the seam in others. How many rounds does it take???

Thanks!
 
I don't think there is a definite hard number on how many rounds of filling and sanding it takes. You may want to hit the bondo'd areas with a light shot of primer between sandings. That way your eye will have a single colored surface to focus on. Also, after the primer has dried, hold the helmet up to a light, lamp or ceiling light will do, and rotate the helmet across the area where you have sanded. The shadow created from the light will ripple if the area is not completely smooth and will give you an idea where you need to apply more bondo or sand some more down.
 
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AFFo$ described EXACTLY what I do when prepping any resin piece.

There's no set number of times you have to add more putty. . . it'll be done when it's done. :)
 
Ahhhhhhhh.... I like the light trick. The shadows should definetly tell me where to concentrate. Thanks for the tip!
 
a couple of things...

in my experience, the glazing putty is best for small gaps. the 2 part stuff is better for large gaps.

like others have said, there isn't a hard number... "until it looks good" is the rule i use.

i usually will do a round of filling and sanding, then spray with a sandable primer. i find that getting it all one color makes it easier to see the edges. sometimes when you've got a blob of pink on a white surface it's hard to tell if you're seeing a border between colors, or a bump.
 
I'll try the primer tonight as well. I was hoping I could tell by touch if it was smooth but I think there's a big difference in texture between the sanded resin and the sanded putty. It's hard to tell if what I'm feeling is imperfection or texture changes.
 
The Bondo glazing putty sands down verrrrry easy, use a finer grit sandpaper and dont put too much on, trying to get it all with one shot. The more you put on, the the more the tendency the glaze will have to shrinking and cracking. Building it up is best in my experiences. I also work with PC-11, which you can find in the epoxy section of Home Depot. Its a two part putty epoxy and smooths out very very nicely with water. Take a bit longer to set up, but the results are a bit more pristine in my opinion.
 
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