What should i use to make a mold?

Vil Norinth

New Hunter
hey guys i've been a member of this site for a while, and lurking even longer. i have made a couple helmets (pretty much just trial and error up till now).

but with the help of WoF's templates, and Antman's very very helpful tutorial i made what i am happy to say a good looking helmet that i am proud of.

i would post pictures but my computer is dead right now and i have to use my girlfriends, and she doesn't have any of the software in her comp.

but to get to the point i want to make a mold out of this helmet, i already have smooth-on rebound 25, and some plaster bandages, and i was just wondering if anyone could help me with either a tutorial thats on the site already or if they could let me know what kind of fiberglass and resin to use in making the final product.

thank you guys very much:)
 
Not sure how much help this will be but I'll tell you what I do. I'd drop the plaster bandages and go for a fibreglass jacket for the silicone mold instead, as it's lighter and more durable.
As for the material to use for the lid itself. I know alot of people here go with fibreglass, but I find it a real pain and somewhat nasty to work with. If you can get it go with a quick cast polyester resin with a 1:1 mix ratio something like "Biresin G26" It's great for slush casting, low odour and great detail pick up. It also has a good amount of flex so it won't shatter if you drop your lid nor will it deform if exposed to varying tempratures.
If you are going to use fibreglass then a normal auto motive glassing kit would do the trick.
Hope this is of some use. Good luck.....And don't for get to wear gloves and a respirator :)
 
thanks a lot SF i only planned to use fiberglass because thats just what i saw others using. i went to a store and saw examples of aquaresin and fiberglass, and it looked way too fragile to me. and i am going to have to cut out the part where the visor goes and also drill a hole in for the RF unit. so i think i would have to go with something more like plastic. thanks for your help and if anyone else can help out i'd gladly appreciate it
 
You tube has many mold making videos you can check out.

How many helmets did you want to make? That should determine the type of mold that you make.
 
There is a great video a guy made using rebound 25 with plasti-paste as a support shell for an ODST Halo helmet. It is really helpful.

Check it out!!
 
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Su'cuy i just joined. I started my helmet off with paper mashe(however u spell that) over a balloon. Then cardboard over that for a little more strength and shape then i took a tub of durabond 90 extra strength and covered the entire helmet. Waited for it to dry then sanded it down to the shape. It looks bang on and the beauty of it is, right up to the time it hardend like a rock i was able to flex it if it to fit better. This method seems to have worked quite well however the helmet is fairly heavy and its a fairly long process that has taken weeks. My next step is to cover that mold with a low guage sheet metal for strength and to match the rest of my armor which is made of steel. All u got to remember is the you can do anything when you got the will to do it.(just not fly without the aid of a machine :(. )
 
SinisterFett is right. Go Urethane on your castings. Fiberglass is fast becoming a thing of the past. I'm getting away from it myself. It not only a pain in the arse, but also a HUGE health hazard. Plastics have come a LONG way in the last 5 years.

If you pick the right urethane, you get far more benefits in your castings, I don't care how good you are with fiberglass, fiberglass is still primarily hand laid and no matter how hard you try, you cannot get consistent castings.

-------------- * Fibergalss vs. Urethane * ---------------------

Urethane will flex far more than gel coated fiberglass.

Urethane will not chip like gel coat normally if dropped on a sharp edge.

Fiberglass will tend to "creep" over a period of a year or more (lose the original intended shape). No way around this. Urethane, even if it gets warm, it will go back to EXACTLY where it started right out of the mold.

Urethane is more machinable. Every time someone drills into a fiberglass gauntlet shell to mount their switches, they inevitably crack the gel coat around the hole.

Labor cost vs. material cost is a wash. It is slightly cheaper to do a piece in fiberglass, but to do it right is extremely labor intensive. Urethane will cost more up front for a good QUALITY resin, but takes less time to pull. But the biggest benefit here is less health risk. Laying up a helmet in fiberglass for 2 hours being exposed to styrene monomers, vs. setting up a urethane component in about 10 minutes. Even when the urethane starts to kick (emits a hazardous fume), you can walk away. Your done anyway. The fiberglass has to be babied. Pampered. Tickled, teased, and loved. And like many women, is fickle .. and generally ungrateful when we attempt to "try" to treat them right :lol:

Can you tell I hate fiberglass ??? <clears throat>

Thing of the past. Once you start down that path, forever will it damage your LUNGS.

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I think Clonesix has been doing his awesome clones in urethane rotocast for many years. When cast properly, they will last for man many years. You can drop one of his buckets, and it might even bounce back up into your hands. But don't get me wrong. There are WRONG ways of casting urethane. Mainly, rigid urethane foams. Stay away from those. They crack like eggs. There is a particular helmet that's been made for years that uses self skinning rigid urethane foam. For a cheap casting that you don't care that lasts for years, it may be an option though depending on budget.

Can you tell I hate fiberglass yet?? ;)

Fiberglass has it's place. The marine industry. Period. It should have been outlawed for private use. I can only imagine what health issues I face in 10 years after working with it for 10 years.

Ok, PSA concluded. Stay away form Fiberglass :lol:

FP
 
i think it is what you like to use. i like fiberglass for somethings and resin for others and sometimes layers of both. but if you use fiberglass ,wear a resperator. trust me.
 
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