Resin and Fiberglass Tutorial - Borrowed from 405th

Since I know many of you have questions about how to resin and fibreglass your pepakura costumes I will explain to you the process that I use with my costume. Hopefully these tips and instructions will help you out on your road to completion. For the time being I will start you off with the Resin application part of this tutorial.

----------Resining with "Resin"----------

STEP 1:Get Materials Together

----------Materials----------

Resin


Liquid hardener


Brush(s), reallys it's personal preferance


Container(top of resin can)


Tinfoil(to put inside container so it can be reused) - If you want, you can skip this step and just pop out the hardened resin with a flathead screwdriver.


Mixing stick or the like


Knife/Scissors
(Self Explanatory)

Stand(to hold work) i think it's wats left of Lopez


Piece(the most important part)


Before you jump into any thing you first want to make sure you're in a well ventilated area and you have a large enough work area for the piece you will be working on.

The first thing you need to do is clean the surface of the object that you will be resining. Make sure it is free of debris and foreign objects.

Next you want to place your piece on your stand, in this case it is the master chief helmet.



Now you are almost ready to resin your piece.
STOP
Before you do make sure you read, and re-read if necessary, the instructions on the back of the can.

MIXING

The first thign you need to do when mixing the resin and hardener is to line your container with tinfoil. Again this step can be skipped if you so choose.



Next pour in the desired amount of resin.(Pour an amount that you think you will use in 5-10min as it will be unusable after that.)



Next add the correct amount of Liquid Hardener. (READ DIRECTIONS!! Too much will cause the resin to harden within a couple minuets.)

Mix the two together for 10-15seconds and remove stiring stick.(wipe off excess resin on stick.)

>>>WARNING: Never mix a new batch with an old one, the onld will start to harden the new one instantly<<<

Now dip your brush into the resin and load it up with a moderate amount, not dripping off. If there is excess just wipe it on the edge of the container so that it flows back in.

Apply the resin to your piece starting at the seams first and the working your way around. You start at the seam to make sure it gets a healty amount of resin to give it support.



Remember to work quickly as the clock is against you, if you're too slow your resin will end up like this->


At this point it is too bad too use, sorry, just throw it away.

After you have used the desired amount of resin on the piece let it dry. it should start to look something like this.



I reccomend doing your pieces in sections so as to not "water log" your medium. This also ensures you'll have a dry spot to get a firm grasp on.

To be continued.

Now it is time to choose where to start. I suggest the inside center of the helmet and then work out from there.

Take your brush and spread some resin from the front center of the head to the back center.

Now take one of the longer strips and lay it parrallel with the top of the head.

Move quickly hear and pour some resin from the front to the back of the head and then brush it in. (fibre glass will stick to brush)

When the fibre glass turns brownish like the resin

At this point the first piece will look something like this. - Note, should be done on the inside of the helmet, not the outside, I am just doing this on the outside so you can see it better.




Now brush some more resin next to the piece you just laid and then lay another long strip on either side of the center one. Aim for about 1/4"-1/2" overlap as in pictured below.


Keep doing this using the different sizes where you deem them fit until the entire helmet is covered.

I recommend doing the entire thing in sections so that it is easier to handle and your resin doesn't end up like this.


--->CAUTION IF THIS HAPPENS DO NOT TOUCH THE RESIN OR CONTAINER WITH YOUR BARE SKIN, The resin is chemically reacting and is VERY HOTT!!!<---

Also, you should never fiberglass the outside just use resin, as you will lose detail.