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[Zur'ta Ordo]

So here is the work so far on my crusader era helm. Tell me what you think!

I started out with this bell bike helmet


I decided to bondo the top of it... Here is pre-sanding.



And here is post sanding. I used caulk to fill in at least some of the air pocket holes in the bondo.







Any advice on how to get rid of the rest of those holes and make it look smoother? I've thought about sanding it down about 1/4 inch more and just putting sintra over it.

[Hondo Karr]

You probably need to keep sanding. It looks like the Bondo was put on very very heavy. If you're going for a smooth finish, keep sanding down. Once you have the whole thing as smooth as possible, you can use glazing putty to take care of SMALL airholes and imperfections. I'm guessing the Bondo was used primarily to fill the holes in the dome? If that's the case, you can almost sand until you see the bike helmet in the raised areas.

[Zur'ta Ordo]

Yeah, i put it on pretty heavy. First time bondoing, unfortunately. And yes, it was used to fill in the holes in the helmet. I'll head out and sand it quite a bit more and see what happens. I'll run down and buy some glazing like you said, too. After seeing it this morning, caulk certainly isn't the answer haha.

[Zur'ta Ordo]

I'm having a bit of a problem finding glazing putty. Home Depot, for those who know what that is, doesn't have it. Says it was primarily used to put window panes in old doors. I'll try checking some glass shops this week. If anyone has any suggestions where to find it, please let me know

[Hondo Karr]

Go to Walmart or an Autoparts store. Glazing Putty is made by Bondo and should be in the automotive repair area.

[Fel'dan Drosk]

I did something pretty similar actually, except mine was a full motorcycle helmet I coated in bondo to fill in the holes at the top and keep it all smooth. Then I taped the inside to cover the opening in the front and bondod that, before sanding all of it. Overall it came out alright, but the little dips in it are keeping me from moving on to paint.. I was kind of thinking about fiberglassing it all in order to just make it uniform and cover the holes, think thats possible?

[Zur'ta Ordo]

I think that would be possible. I know a lot of Mercs do use it. Fiberglass can come out pretty smooth. The reason that I didn't do that is I've heard fiberglass doesn't stand up very well in the Arizona summer (where I live). I'm not sure whether that's true, but I figured if there were other options such as bondo, I would just play it safe.

[Zur'ta Ordo]

I put the duct tape over the top of the helmet, then put the bondo over that. I haven't bothered with the holes on the inside of the helmet. Is there any reason that I should cover them up from the inside?

[Fel'dan Drosk]

No, probably not. Your idea was more practical, but the shape of the indent around the holes on mine made it so i couldnt get the tape to go over the top very well. Im just going to get it as smooth and uniform as possible before fiberglassing it

[Zur'ta Ordo]

That's probably best. I'm doing late crusader era, so i'm intending the helmet to not be uniformly smooth. I want it to be smooth, but not uniform like a hard hat would be.

[Fel'dan Drosk]

I'm late crusader too man. And I was going for the same kind of look: tiny imperfections, because all their equipment was supposed to be handmade.

[Zur'ta Ordo]

I'm going to buy the glazing fluid and apply it to the bondo on my helmet tonight. Before I do, any tips on how to apply it? I've never worked with it before, so it wouldn't be shocking if Iit turned out mediocre haha.