Chapter 3 details the process of mixing and applying Bondo and finishing the exterior of the helmet. This process took about two weeks of constant mixing Bondo, sanding Bondo, and patching the holes in and around the Bondo. It was also one of my favorite parts of this project.
I had finished laying down fiberglass and was ready to start the next step. I used a pair of large and small putty knives to mix and applying the Bondo. The vinyl gloves were good to have around because it keeps the Bondo from adhering to your hands. Interestingly, the lid of the Bondo jar is the most helpful tool I used during this project. Because its round shape, it was the perfect helmet stand.
I started off by mixing a decent sized batch of Bondo. I used my putty knife to help fill the the crevasses in the dome. While doing this, I found out that Bondo's Automotive putty has a really short working time, which meant that it completely cured in under 10 minutes. I ended up wasting a fair bit of putty because I didn't work fast enough.
I had to eyeball how much catalyst I added to each time I mixed a new batch. As a result, each batch of Bondo came out a slightly different shade of pink.
Bondo is great for creating a sandable, flat surface, but it's also great for patching large holes. I used it several times on the interior, and again to patch a hole in the rangefinder. Bondo is an excellent material to work with because it's very easy to shape, and you can build up several layers of it.
I spent a few hours trying to create a smooth transition between the Bondo and fiberglass patches. Eventually I realized that it would be far easier to completely cover the dome in Bondo, and then sand it smooth. I mixed a few more batches of Bondo and went to
Because I had a lot of material work with, I covered the dome in heavy, thick coats of Bondo. Instead of hand sanding everything, I saved some time by using a hand sander. What should have taken hours of soul-crushing labor, took ten easy minutes.
When I wrapped the visor, the fiberglass left some serious imperfections along the front of the helmet. I fixed these areas by patching them over with a few thin coats of Bondo, followed by a bit of sanding. The new visor came in, so I just had to take a few pictures of it.
Because I have a tendency to notice problem areas and then forget about them, I started circling them with a Sharpie. The majority of these problem spots happened at the edges of the Bondo patches.
Bondo is great for filling large gaps and building flat surfaces. Unfortunately, it has a consistency of cake icing and isn't good for filling little holes. To fill these little imperfections I could have also used automotive glazing putty, but chose drywall spackle instead.
After a trip back to Home Depot, I returned with a tube of DAP drywall spackle. This was a good choice because of its fine application tip and because I could quickly dry it with my heat gun.
Whenever I'd spy a hole, I'd fill it with spackle, bake it dry with my heat gun. This particular brand would go on pink, but would dry to a uniform white. Then I'd use a square of 400 grit sandpaper to give me a smooth, scratch-free finish.
Overall, I was able to quickly touch up my problem areas with a bit more spackle. Once these holes were finished, I was ready to start painting and priming the helmet.
Or so I thought.
Link to full album: Imgur
Link to Part 4: Blogger
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