Helmet reinforcment

[usul45]

Hello all, my first forum post! So excited! So here we go I just picked up my two TE ROTJ helmets, now the material is VERY thin at the bottom of the aerators, and by thin I mean THIN. So here’s what I wonder, what would you recommend as a filler agent to get something in there to harden up that section. I was thinking some sort of epoxy laid in, in several iterations would harden it up, but I am worried about heat from the epoxy melting the thin stuff. Anyone have any ideas of what I could use to give this piece some more thickness?

[Sonnenschein]

Try the "Tee and super glue"-method

K.

[TK5144[TK]]

What do you think about plastidip, sprayed or painted on the inside?

 

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Edited December 5, 2020 by gmrhodes13
link not working, removed gmrhodes13 2020

[SuperTrooper]

Try the "Tee and super glue"-method

K.

 

Don't do it, it'll generate enough heat when it kicks that it will cause the plastic to wrinkle and deform.

 

Try laying up several layer of good ole Elmers or "white glue". It doesn't generate any heat when it cures, and given enough coats it'll thicken up the area.

[usul45]

Don't do it, it'll generate enough heat when it kicks that it will cause the plastic to wrinkle and deform.

 

Try laying up several layer of good ole Elmers or "white glue". It doesn't generate any heat when it cures, and given enough coats it'll thicken up the area.

 

I'm going to give this a shot, sounds safe and an easy fix should I totally mess it up. Thanks for the ideas guys, now on to the rest of the restoration on the helmets.

[TK6294]

I recently repaired a cracked helmet that cracked because the material was so thin at the aerators. In order to repair the crack and prevent more, i used loctite 2 part epoxy. I applied it in three layers and just spread it around in the inside until it was tacky enough to stay put. It turned out really nice....

 

I have used the tee shirt and CA glue method on my armor and it did get plenty hot. I can see how that might be a disaster on a helmet.

[usul45]

I recently repaired a cracked helmet that cracked because the material was so thin at the aerators. In order to repair the crack and prevent more, i used loctite 2 part epoxy. I applied it in three layers and just spread it around in the inside until it was tacky enough to stay put. It turned out really nice....

 

I have used the tee shirt and CA glue method on my armor and it did get plenty hot. I can see how that might be a disaster on a helmet.

 

TK6294, no heat problems with this stuff? Aerators were OK? What advantages to the ol' Elmers do you think that stuff would have?

Thanks!

[usul45]

Try the "Tee and super glue"-method

K.

 

Hi Sonnenshein, what exactly is the Tee, and super glue method? I'm a bit of a noob.

Thanks!

[TK6294]

Hi Sonnenshein, what exactly is the Tee, and super glue method? I'm a bit of a noob.

Thanks!

 

I just learned it too. You take some CA glue (find at local hobby shop) and cut an old tee-shirt to fit the patch area. I suggest you wear rubber gloves and do this in a ventilated area. And please avoid touching any sensitive areas with glue on your hands (ever watch american pie 2?). Place the Tee-shirt patch in the desired spot. Then cover and spread around the CA glue to completely cover the patch and soak all the way through. You can also buy some CA glue accelerant spray to speed up the cure process. The result is a super strong patch. I used this method to patch some areas of my armor that were showing some stress fractures.

 

I also read in a popular mechanics magazine that you can mix CA glue with baking soda to make a cement paste. The article stated that you can use this paste to literally build up missing section of plastic. I have not tried the baking soda paste yet...

[TK-2126_MD[TK]]

I agree the T & CA method is not the best for the very thin areas... but for your regular thick place or for other mods or constrution builds A+!!!!!! the Elmers glue with the t-shirt might prove to be very good idea!!!! the rubberized spray paint looks awesome too... i think it will mostly be what u canget where u live.

[runewolf]

I too have a similar issue with my helmet. The place where you drill for the mic tips are so thin, I think the weight of the tips will deform or crack the area. So my plan was to use Bondo to build it up. Figure it would kill two birds with one stone, I would have a solid area to mount the mic tips and have a "flattened" area inside to mount a fan blowing up to my lenses.

[TK6294]

TK6294, no heat problems with this stuff? Aerators were OK? What advantages to the ol' Elmers do you think that stuff would have?

Thanks!

 

sorry, I did not see this question before. The 2 part epoxy does generate heat when curing but it is not as hot. The immediate cure take 20 minutes instead of 2 minutes for CA glue. The full cure take 24 hours. The faster the cure the more heat there will be. I think the epoxy will hold up better the Elmers glue. Beware, the epoxy does not come off once dried! So be careful in applying. It will also have a yellowish tinge of color when dried so only use in hidden areas. I think it would be good around the aerators but whatever you do will be permanent.

 

Here is another tip that worked for me in the cracked helmet repair. I used bondo to seal the cracks and smooth out the deformaties. Then I had trouble keeping the bondo intact when sanding. It wanted to chip off at the edges and in thin spots. So I took some CA glue and rubber gloves and applied to the bondo area after I sanded the surface smooth. I smoothed out the CA glue with my rubber gloved fingers. When it cured I sanded lightly and painted. The CA glue on the resin made a shiny plastic surface that accepted paint very well. I was suprised at how well it turned out. I can post some before after pictures later on if

anyone is interested.

[GosHawk[501st]]

A friend just told me about plumbers epoxy. Not sure if that's the same thing as bondo. You just kneed the the two parts together and it drys rather fast but you can grind, sand, power tool it up it's some strong stuff according to what my friend said.

[usul45]

sorry, I did not see this question before. The 2 part epoxy does generate heat when curing but it is not as hot. The immediate cure take 20 minutes instead of 2 minutes for CA glue. The full cure take 24 hours. The faster the cure the more heat there will be. I think the epoxy will hold up better the Elmers glue. Beware, the epoxy does not come off once dried! So be careful in applying. It will also have a yellowish tinge of color when dried so only use in hidden areas. I think it would be good around the aerators but whatever you do will be permanent.

 

Here is another tip that worked for me in the cracked helmet repair. I used bondo to seal the cracks and smooth out the deformaties. Then I had trouble keeping the bondo intact when sanding. It wanted to chip off at the edges and in thin spots. So I took some CA glue and rubber gloves and applied to the bondo area after I sanded the surface smooth. I smoothed out the CA glue with my rubber gloved fingers. When it cured I sanded lightly and painted. The CA glue on the resin made a shiny plastic surface that accepted paint very well. I was suprised at how well it turned out. I can post some before after pictures later on if

anyone is interested.

 

Thanks for the info pics, would be great if you have the time.

Thanks again.

[TK6294]

usul45 said:

Thanks for the info pics, would be great if you have the time.

Thanks again.

 

This picture is from before the repair. The crack is the line below the aerator. It is tough to make out because of the white back ground but it was 1/4" wide and 1.5" long. This was a TE2 helmet. I am not fond of that design. It was also dented or deformed by a previous repair attempt. I repaired it for a friend.

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After the repair. I did not repaint the whole helmet. Also, the white paint did not match. I was able to blend it in with some sanding and buffing.

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Edited December 5, 2020 by gmrhodes13
link not working, removed gmrhodes13 2020

[Hogan]

I haven't heard this option mentioned yet. So, how about using fiberglass to reinforce the inside? Could you use the fiberglass resin and cloth around the aerators on the inside? I'm currently trying the glue method to beef up the aerator portion on my helmet since that is the only weak spot. I had used the fiberglass cloth on my Fett armor but not on any helmet. Does anyone know if using the fiberglass resin could cause problems?

 

 

Rick

[usul45]

I haven't heard this option mentioned yet. So, how about using fiberglass to reinforce the inside? Could you use the fiberglass resin and cloth around the aerators on the inside? I'm currently trying the glue method to beef up the aerator portion on my helmet since that is the only weak spot. I had used the fiberglass cloth on my Fett armor but not on any helmet. Does anyone know if using the fiberglass resin could cause problems?

 

 

Rick

 

Now that is a real good question right there.

[usul45]

TK6294 said:

This picture is from before the repair. The crack is the line below the aerator. It is tough to make out because of the white back ground but it was 1/4" wide and 1.5" long. This was a TE2 helmet. I am not fond of that design. It was also dented or deformed by a previous repair attempt. I repaired it for a friend.

 

 

After the repair. I did not repaint the whole helmet. Also, the white paint did not match. I was able to blend it in with some sanding and buffing.

 

 

Thanks so much for the pics, when you did the re-paint, did you sand off al of the paint or just paint over the existing paint?

[TK6294]

Thanks so much for the pics, when you did the re-paint, did you sand off al of the paint or just paint over the existing paint?

 

 

After the crack was repaired and the inside reinforced i did the painting. I sanded the repaired area and the area surrounding it. I then sprayed some paint primer (rustoleum). Then sprayed with white paint (Rustoleum). The hard part was the paint line where I taped off to protect the rest of the helmet. I sanded them with 400 grit paper until the transition was smooth. Then I buffed the heck out of it. the buffing took out the sanding abrasions and helped blend the paint colors together.