Mike M.'s jango progress thread (update 12-15-19)

Mike M.

Well-Known Hunter
Community Staff
TDH PREMIUM MEMBER
ok, here's something i was playing with on my new asok jango helmet. as i was sanding the helmet going from 200 to 320 to 400 to 800 i found myself not entirely happy with the finish i was achieving so i had an idea. i thought, "there is aluminum powder in the resin, that's actual metal, not much but it is metal. i've got some chrome polish. i wonder..."

so i dug around under the sink and found my tub of meguiar's all metal motorcycle polish. this is the part that you should NOT do. i applied a good glob with a cotton ball and rubbed it on a bit then got out my dremel with the buffing wheel. don't do that! even at the lowest setting the dremel was spinning too fast so it got hot and started to burn the resin. fortunately it was only on a small area and i was able to sand it out with 400 grit then refinished it with 800.

but i was not to be deterred! i got another glob of polish on a cotton ball and really rubbed it as best i could by hand (remember polish in circles). then i used a handy mcdonalds paper napkin to buff it out. it's as close to a mirror finish you can get without actually working with chrome. i tried using a buffing cloth but the finish i got with the paper napkin was so much nicer.

i'm not completely finished polishing it yet, so i'm going to find my camera and take a few pictures to show the difference between the sanded finish and the metal polish finish.

brb to find the camera.
 
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I used 0000 steel wool on mine. Please post photos.
 
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found my camera and got some pics while i still had plenty of daylight.

the red circled areas are where i haven't used the metal polish yet. those parts are sanded to 800 grit right now.

please pay no attention to the man without a shirt in the background.

frontside.jpg


rightside.jpg


leftside.jpg


backside.jpg
 
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Looks pretty sweet buddy! I've been working on my asok jango bucket quite a bit as well. I'm really itching to paint and weather it, but I still need to get that cut seam blended!

Kody
 
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Good job! The polished parts look really nice.
Asok does a great job on those helmets.(y)
 
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i think i'm going to leave it how it is right now. i think it adds a little bit of character to the helmet. like a weld line. the messed up part is that the spots where it's the smoothest over the seam are the spots where it's the most noticeable. i also want to incorporate the pitting that i couldn't sand out into the finished product. i'm thinking of it as weathering that i don't have to do.
 
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Good job! The polished parts look really nice.
Asok does a great job on those helmets.(y)

praise from cruzer in the realm of things jango is a grand compliment indeed. thank you sir.
 
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i think i'm going to leave it how it is right now. i think it adds a little bit of character to the helmet. like a weld line. the messed up part is that the spots where it's the smoothest over the seam are the spots where it's the most noticeable. i also want to incorporate the pitting that i couldn't sand out into the finished product. i'm thinking of it as weathering that i don't have to do.

That is probably what I'm going to do in the end. I'm just nervous about sanding the CC off...I've done A LOT of molding and casting, but this is my first CC. Have you sanded it quite a bit with the grit progression? I haven't done too much heavy sanding but I had metal fibers EVERYWHERE from rubbing it with wire wool for a couple hours :lol:.

Kody
 
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i used four grades of sandpaper. starting with 200 just to get the dull off. then 320 to dig in a bit and grind out the bites of the 200. then 400 because 400 is what i default to for most prop sanding. then i jumped to 800 to get it smooth. i could have gone up to 1000, but i just didn't feel like it.

p.s. here's the strangest tip for wetsanding ever: i sat in the bath tub, with the shower going, to sand with the 800 grit.

the biggest problem i've run into is that i was a little more rough than i needed to be and got hairline cracks in the corners of the of the visor. i'm not sure if i want to attempt to repair them topically or if i just want to reinforce the area from the inside with fiberglass. either way i'm going to glass the inside. i just don't want to mess up my finish.
 
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Good job! The polished parts look really nice.
Asok does a great job on those helmets.(y)

Thank you! (y) I just make helmets the way I make the one I made for myself.

On my helmet, left some of the marks to give it a natural weathering.
 
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That is probably what I'm going to do in the end. I'm just nervous about sanding the CC off...I've done A LOT of molding and casting, but this is my first CC. Have you sanded it quite a bit with the grit progression? I haven't done too much heavy sanding but I had metal fibers EVERYWHERE from rubbing it with wire wool for a couple hours :lol:.

Kody

What I've found with CC is that even if you sand down to the "darker" levels of CC, they still shine just as bright in the sun/bright light. Also, for spot filling tiny air bubble holes, nicks, etc... I mix aluminum powder with CC glue and it does wonders for spot filling the CC surface. It seems to blend in better if the surrounding surface is already polished.(y)
 
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i just picked up a tube of bondo plastic metal and it seems to be a jango builders wet dream! i saw it at walmart in their tiny automotive repair section and thought, "hey, that could work." so i bought it. i tested a glob out on a paper plate, spread it around a bit, made it flat, and walked away for it to cure. it claims to be as hard as metal in a cure time of three hours. so i went and took a nap, the last two days were pretty rough on me so i needed some more time to sleep. woke up about 20 minutes ago to look at the mess on the paper plate. it looked like unfinished cold cast. i quickly got my three default grits sanding paper: 320, 400, and 800 (and since there was a piece of 1000 sitting there handy i used it too). i started with the 320, and even on to the 400 i was like, "ok?" then after i hit it with the 800 i started to notice a little bit of a shine to it; and the 1000 made it even better. next i took the chrome polish and a cotton ball to it, and it shined up really nice. JACK POT!!!!

i'll admit that it's not as glossy a finish as i got using the polish on the CC helmet itself, but for me it'll beat the heck outta having to paint the red stuff after i install the key slots. and the smell isn't nearly as strong either.

so check it out at your local walmart or automotive center, or here it is online: http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=6138

if you're doing jango, this does not suck.



p.s. since i'm using url's, here's a link to the metal polish i've been using: http://autodetailingsolutions.net/mc20406.html i found this stuff in walmart, but you should be able to find it at an automotive store like checker or napa too.
 
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Awesome stuff bro! I'm going to have to run to Wal-Mart tomorrow after work. I thought I was a Bondo expert by now, but I guess I must have missed that stuff. Thanks for all the info.

Kody
 
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I've heard several different things on the sanding of CC; which is suppose to be better for it though; steel wool or the sandpaper?
 
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here we go, just a touch of weathering to go and this helmet will be done. enjoy the pics.

finished3.jpg


finished2.jpg


finished1.gif


finished4.jpg
 
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:eek: Great looking helmet mate! However, don't stroke Cruzer's ego too much. I did that once and he showed up on my door step and stayed for 2 weeks. It's best not to encourage him.

:lol:
 
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