what is your favorite Epoxy to use?

[clark101]

Doing some serious frankencasing and wondering what is the best epoxy to use, that can be sanded good?

 

[laingsoft]

Most epoxy's I have used are too hard to sand, that said, I usually use JB weld to hold things together, then a whole ton of bondo/plastic body filler.

 

[hailrazer]

Most epoxy's I have used are too hard to sand, that said, I usually use JB weld to hold things together, then a whole ton of bondo/plastic body filler.

Umm not to be rude, but that has to be the WORST advice I have ever heard on how to make a portable.

Probably the "best" way is to use abs cement first to secure everything. The reason being is that the abs cement will actually melt the plastics together. Put it on sparingly and leave it "low".
Then use a flexible filler to cover the abs cement. I use bumper filler used on cars because it can flex unlike jbweld without cracking.
Then after sanding smooth, use bondo filler to fill the "pinholes" and tiny low spots.

Now if only there was a guide

If I link to it , it probably won't show up with the word filter, but :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1dvSlvZLG8

 

[Tchay]

Most epoxy's I have used are too hard to sand, that said, I usually use JB weld to hold things together, then a whole ton of bondo/plastic body filler.

Umm not to be rude, but that has to be the WORST advice I have ever heard on how to make a portable.

Probably the "best" way is to use abs cement first to secure everything. The reason being is that the abs cement will actually melt the plastics together. Put it on sparingly and leave it "low".
Then use a flexible filler to cover the abs cement. I use bumper filler used on cars because it can flex unlike jbweld without cracking.
Then after sanding smooth, use bondo filler to fill the "pinholes" and tiny low spots.

Now if only there was a guide

If I link to it , it probably won't show up with the word filter, but :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1dvSlvZLG8

THE MAN SPEAKS TRUTH!

I have been using the Hailrazer Method since the Ccube days and it never fails (when done properly).

Some additional stuff I do (although Hail is welcome to correct any of these methods):

*****for flex filler, a cool little trick I use, after applying the flex filler, you can wet your finger (I use rubbing alcohol as it dries fast), and then spread the flex filler around the case and smooth it out BEFORE it dries. This saves LOTS of time sanding, as the filler will already be smooth and in place by the time it dries. Great for smoothing out triggers on the back of a case that are made out of cement and filler.

*****you can make flex filler "harder" by using more of the hardset (imagine that). Slightly more balanced than a 2 ratio (as appose to 2:2 ratio of soft set to hard set). This can be useful for cement-made protrusions from the case where you want the protrusion to be fairly stiff. You can use a combo of flex filler and hard filler for the best results.

Bondo filler can be a real pain in the butt after, say, a year of use if you still have the same container (as air will slowly start to dry out the inside of the tube, despite your best efforts to seal it). So unless you are very careful with that tube, plan on buying a new one each year.

In some cases (no pun intended), it can be easier to use the flex filler FIRST over an area, and then put ABS cement on the other side of the case underneath it to seal the filler in place after it has dried. This saves time with sanding, as ABS cement is harder to sand than filler (which is quite easy to sand).

If you are using ABS cement on screw posts, KEEP IN MIND, ABS cement loves to crack (the same way brittle plastic would, as it is essentially liquid plastic that then dries with airbubbles inside). So you may need to reinforce those screw posts with a lot of ABS cement, or you could add a little epoxy coating around the cement as epoxy is more flexible than ABS cement.

 

[laingsoft]

Most epoxy's I have used are too hard to sand, that said, I usually use JB weld to hold things together, then a whole ton of bondo/plastic body filler.

Umm not to be rude, but that has to be the WORST advice I have ever heard on how to make a portable.

I never said it was the best. OP is free to do as he wishes. I'm sharing my experience. Most of the cases I have made I usually cut by hand/vacuum form, so frankencasing is fairly irrelevant. I've done one frankencase so far.

 

[ttsgeb]

I would just like to add that ABS Cement is beautiful stuff. Also, wear gloves or use Popsicle sticks or something. It's a Sega to get off of your hands. My fingers were coated in plastic for a week. :/

I'm sure there are also health reasons for that, but IDGAF about them.

 

[clark101]

Hey thanks a lot for all the advise! I have a much better idea what i want to use now.