modeling materials question

[NERV]

i will soon be working with multiple matarials most of which will have a rough matte surface, is there any type of material, like a liquid plastic or something that could be used to smoth out a rough surface for painting, and when i say rough surface i mean rough surface, the worst one ill be working with is paper mache

[Less than Super Ostrich]

wow... rough ... you are not kidding! Paper mache will be hugely difficult to get smooth, but I would think layers is your best bet. Using the old Mori Mori putty will be way too expensive given the surface area you are likely going to need to cover. You could potentially start with Bondo (get a large thing from an auto supply store)... and then sand it to as close to smooth as you can. Then you use some Mori Mori or Milliput for the smaller gaps... and then some Mr. Surfacer for the rest. Get a lot of sand paper!

[tetsujin]

Would Bondo stay in place? In my experience it's not good for filling small gaps like panel lines or small surface variations, since it doesn't cure hard enough and doesn't bond well enough (to materials other than polyester-based putties or fiberglass...) to stay put. But maybe that's just me, which is why I'm asking.

I'm afraid I don't have a good answer to the original question, though.

[Less than Super Ostrich]

Would Bondo stay in place? In my experience it's not good for filling small gaps like panel lines or small surface variations, since it doesn't cure hard enough and doesn't bond well enough (to materials other than polyester-based putties or fiberglass...) to stay put.

You may be right! I've actually never used Bondo for a large project like it sounds this guy has.

[VF-17]

What is the size of this project? And how much weight can you go up to? You might want to check out stuff like plaster or plumber's putty to shape out the part just a bit and then go bondo to finish. I don't know how thick bondo can be applied without cracking, but I don't think it can be applied in really thick layers.

[mslz22]

Depending on how rough there is one thing you can try, I read it over at starshipmodeler. Paint it with thick latex/house paint. this will fill in much more than any type of modeling paint and will hopefully leave you with only some minor divits/scratches/etc to fill with squadron putty. I would use a flat house paint, using gloss could result in adhersion problems with the following layers of paint/putty that will go above it. Also test the compatibilities of all the paints on a peice of cardboard or such. Good luck

[NERV]

well the requirement are it has to withstand a paintball and fit on my head, im gonna be making myself a paintball helmet based of the shrike helmets in blue gender

[TER-OR]

Well, here's what I'd do. Since you're using paper mache, you'll need something which won't soak in. Urethanes are probably out.

I'd use epoxy putty. You can use the cheaper plumber's putty for the rough part. If you want a finer surface, you'll need to switch to something like Aves.

You can use a rolling pin and saran wrap to make a very thin sheet, but you probably don't want it too thin. just spread out the putty and apply to your surface. It will cure very hard. For something like Aves or Miliput (I prefer Aves) you can use water to smooth the surface. Be careful, too much will begin to thin the epoxy putty. It will look a little ugly for a while, but will cure smooth when smoothed with water.

You should be able to remove the paper mache beneath.

Or you could soak the paper mache with Envirotex light then do the epoxy trick.