Bondo Replacement

[Darth Aloha[Admin]]

So... the Canadian Garrison nerds in the Toronto area swear by this stuff to use instead of bondo. From what I could see a lot of folks' bondo was cracking at C7. I think this goop is more flexible and stronger. 

 

It's what I plan to use to finish my kit.

 

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-Eric

 

 

Edited March 11, 2021 by gmrhodes13
link not working, removed gmrhodes13 2021

[Barcoder[TK]]

Good to know!

[svache[501st]]

I was recently advised to use this rather than bondo: http://www.devcon.com/products/products.cfm?family=Plastic%20Welder%E2%84%A2still have to go to the store to get it, but it isn't exactly in my neighborhood so been putting it off for now. 

 

And yeah, I too had issues with bondo cracking on some of the seams. 

 

Another thing Clint advised, and I agree, is to add ABS strips on the back of the seams. It makes it a lot more sturdy. 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

I found adding a strip of fibreglass matting and resin behind joints helps to stop bondo cracking on clone armor.

[Necronaut[501st]]

Reinforcing the corners and seams inside the glued and Bondoed armour parts with Fiberglas is pretty common in the cloneetrooper detachment. This helps stiffen up armour, to help prevent flexing and possible cracking of whatever filler you choose.

[DarkTrooper[TK]]

Where are the trouble areas that people are encountering? The only one I've had (so far) is on the back/shoulder piece. I noticed a couple other troopers have that same problem.

[Natalie]

You can get ok results by mixing talc into cyanoacrylate glue to make a paste (this is basically what "bondo" is, except bondo has a polyester base) then hitting it with some spray kicker. It's not going to work on bigger seams but for smaller stuff it's fine. The problem with ABS is its chemical resistance.. Nothing really likes to stick with it chemically. You could try some epoxy with aerogel mixed in but, I think cracking is always going to be an issue on these suits though

Edited April 30, 2015 by Natalie

[cm325i]

The suit I was able to assist with didn't use bondo. He used Zap-a-gap with kicker to build up the outer seamlines quickly and we would sand it back down to a smooth uniform surface. He also reinforced the inside seams with strips as we would a regular TK.

[gazmosis[501st]]

What bondos are people using? I used Micro lite with no cracking issues.

[Berbs42[TK]]

Yep I used CA Glue instead of Bondo, and so far (knocking on wood as I type this), no cracks in those seams....

 

 - Berbs

[Necronaut[501st]]

Has nobody tried ABS paste?  I used it to fill the seams in my clone trooper costume.  Take a bunch of 1 cm x 1 cm ABS chips from the suit trimmings, put them in a glass jar, cover them with acetone from the paint thinner section of your hardware store, let it sit for a few hours, and it turns into a paste that is chemically identical to the armour itself.  It should flex and bend with the same characteristics of the ABS armour around it.

 

Run a little masking tape alongside the seams you are trying to fill (to mask off most of the armour from the paste), apply the paste with some wooden paint sticks or tongue depressors, remove the mask, and let it dry and cure up overnight.  Sand it smooth with a Dremel, mouse sander, MultiMax, etc.  You can do this a few times, with thinner and thinner paste to fill in the small pores that can get left behind.  Then, use some Bondo spot filler to fill in the remaining micro-pores in the ABS filler.  Finally, prime and sand smooth; maybe use a filler primer on top of that just to make sure everything is filled up.

[Berbs42[TK]]

I like ABS paste but with the time constraints to get this done by Celebration I went for CA and accelerator with my local builders here for much faster results vs the cure time of the paste and I have no experience with Bondo.

 

In fact, I still haven't opened the bondo that I bought for this build!

 

Beep Boop...

Edited May 3, 2015 by Berbs42

[sylverbard[TK]]

You filled the gaps with ca glue? Even on the overlaps?

[Berbs42[TK]]

Wherever Bondo would be used by others doing the TFA Builds, we used CA instead.

(Same process we've used in other seamless builds... )

 

 - Berbs

Edited May 4, 2015 by Berbs42

[Necronaut[501st]]

Was CA just used as the adhesive, or was it used as a filler? I used CA on my clone shins to glue them together , despite some heavy criticism from a couple CTN members. No problems after a year.

 

By the sounds of it, you are using CA as a filler too. Did you cut the parts really closely and carefully, to minimize gaps? Or did you do multiple layers of CA to build up layers in order to fill gaps? Did baking soda play into it at all?

[Torment[TK]]

For a filler I recomend something called pro-flex

 

http://www.autobodytoolmart.com/usc-pro-flex-finishing-putty-26037-p-17649.aspx?kpid=22342&gclid=CjwKEAjwvbGqBRCs3eH4o5C74CYSJAB3TODsdKNsC4X27NSAt79G-M49_JwU6KMV1_w0Ku60rbHmQRoCzF3w_wcB

 

You will find many professional autobodys use this kind of stuff. It self levels and has a flex agent.  My clones are upwards of 5 years old with no cracking at all. 

[Berbs42[TK]]

Yes, we used CA for Adhesive and Filler.

We cut as closely as we could, but of course some gaps were wider than planned for. So we layered it and kicked it. And Sanded everything smooth afterwards, Any small fills we patched with Putty.

Worked really well!!

(I must say, I've not heard of adding Baking Soda... )

 

That Sure Seal stuff and the Pro-Flex stuff both sound great!!

 - Berbs

Edited May 9, 2015 by Berbs42

[TK-Sonic[TK]]

I do agree with Torment post. having that flex agent is a plus..

 

I have used this in the past and was thinking about using it again.

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All options are open.

Edited March 11, 2021 by gmrhodes13
link not working, removed gmrhodes13 2021

[TK4205]

DevCon plastic welder or the ACE brand equivalent. The ACE brand is a couple bucks cheaper. No cracking whatsoever. The trick is to mix only what you use. It took 12 tubes of devcon to do my build and I might have had 2 tubes worth of waste. I cut little mixing trowels out of HDPE bottles to stir with. My mixing plate is HDPE, so I can peel off the old epoxy and reuse it.

If you are floating out a large area, I recommend Bondo white All Purpose Putty. It bonds to ABS and HIPS, so don't prime first. It also flexes a little.

[svache[501st]]

So I've been looking for the DevCon plastic weld but nothing is readily available too close by.. I did see something else, namely JB PlasticWeld.. any opinions on this? I noticed the PSI was considerably less than the one advertised for DevCon (360 where DevCon said 3500 or so online)

 

Or should I go with something else from DevCon with a higher PSI instead? There are other epoxy products from DevCon that are sold in my area. Or is the PSI not even going to matter? (I honestly have no idea, it's all new territory for me)

[stroudy[501st]]

I used plastic filler for my clone. Car repair shops use it on bumpers due to the flex in it.

[svache[501st]]

So I've been looking for the DevCon plastic weld but nothing is readily available too close by.. I did see something else, namely JB PlasticWeld.. any opinions on this? I noticed the PSI was considerably less than the one advertised for DevCon (360 where DevCon said 3500 or so online)

 

Or should I go with something else from DevCon with a higher PSI instead? There are other epoxy products from DevCon that are sold in my area. Or is the PSI not even going to matter? (I honestly have no idea, it's all new territory for me)

 

Quoting myself here, coz it may be overlooked being on the end of the previous page. 

 

Anyone any idea about the JB PlasticWeld?

[Pancho[TK]]

Quoting myself here, coz it may be overlooked being on the end of the previous page. 

 

Anyone any idea about the JB PlasticWeld?

I tried to use the low psi plastic expoy on my first blaster build. it was not very durable. parts snapped off pretty easy. might make a good filler but wouldn't use it for assembly.

[plushie[TK]]

What was the PSI on it?

 

My scout belt had a pretty bad crack that I used DevCon plastic weld on and it has held up beautifully. We used the same DevCon on my TFA armor in lieu of CA glues. 

 

Denver ComiCon will be my test of the DevCon plasticweld as an adhesive AND filler. 

[svache[501st]]

I tried to use the low psi plastic expoy on my first blaster build. it was not very durable. parts snapped off pretty easy. might make a good filler but wouldn't use it for assembly.

Thanks, I was afraid for this. Guess I'll have to look a bit further for a decent one

 

 

What was the PSI on it?

 

My scout belt had a pretty bad crack that I used DevCon plastic weld on and it has held up beautifully. We used the same DevCon on my TFA armor in lieu of CA glues. 

 

Denver ComiCon will be my test of the DevCon plasticweld as an adhesive AND filler. 

The JB PlasticWeld has a PSI of 360, the DevCon one has a PSI of 3500. This is a bit why I was wondering