My helmet

[drycell]

I wanted to see how good the dupli-color metal flake paint and clear coat was, so I did my helmet first. I'm happy with how it turned out (especially the skulls) even though it is a little sloppy. I'm also a little hesitant to paint the bike because it's in good condition, aside from the clearcoat. I was thinking of stripping the old clearcoat off and shooting it with dupli-color clear. Has anyone done this?

Anyway, here are the pictures of my helmet, let me know what you think:

[drycell]

another dumb question... how come my pictures didn't show up?

[bonanzadave]

Ya cant post pics from your computer. Download them to Photobucket. Click copy then paste them to your post. Easy once ya get the hang of it.

[drycell]

much better. many thanks.

[ironsheik]

I've never even thought about painting my helmet until now. Did you just sand and prime with plastic paint?

Josh

[Ninja_Lancer]

Make sure you use a paint that won't damage (melt) your helmet. Style points aren't worth mucking up your lid.

[drycell]

I didn't sand because I couldn't find my sandpaper and it was around 10:30 when I decided I'd paint it. I cleaned it up as much as possible with steel wool and primered it. It was pretty straightforward from there. Did I already mention that I used rattlecans on it?

[Zooks]

What do I think? No offense dude but I think you need to chuck that helmet in the rubbish bin now. In most parts of the world (western countries at least), it is illegal to paint a motorcycle helmet except with an approved helmet paint. Painting the helmet will almost always weaken the helmet and make it dangerous in a serious accident. I would think twice before ever modifying safety gear.

[drycell]

really? i had no idea... that helmet's about four years old and I was planning on picking up a new one anyway... Thanks for the heads up.

[MelodicMetalGod]

really? i had no idea... that helmet's about four years old and I was planning on picking up a new one anyway... Thanks for the heads up.

Heads up? Pun-intended?

I totally agree that you don't want to use that helmet again. One of the first things I learned about helmets is that ANYTHING that might affect the chemical/molecular composition should NOT be used on a helmet as it could result in reducing it's effectiveness. Also, if you drop a helmet, it could be done, even if there's no visible damage. Fortunately, with a four year old helmet you've pretty much reached end of life and it was probably time to replace it anyway.

[beergood]

I know this might get me flamed here, but I would wear the helmet.

It has always been my experience that safety equipment is, by its very nature, designed with a generous factor of safety. If you don't know what factor of safety is, it's how strong something is built divided by how strong it needs to be.

The skin of your helmet exists to be destroyed in an accident and shift the force of the blow the the foam core, which absorbs and distributes the shock. The foam core is the life saver in your helmet. The reason the disclaimer that dropping your helmet can ruin it, even if it looks okay, is because theoretically you can damage the foam core and not know it. Then in an accident it won't work as well as it should.

So the fear from painting your helmet, based on the research I have done, isn't that it will weaken the skin of your helmet, but that the solvents in the vapors from the paint could dissolve and weaken the foam core of your helmet. This is the same reason you aren't supposed to store your helmets near gas cans or other solvents, or over your gas cap on a hot day.

As long as you didn't paint this in an severely enclosed area, which I know can be fun, then I bet you are fine.

We also live in an outrageously litigious society, were we shift blame like nature shifts the wind.

There are also warnings about working on your own brakes/shocks/wheels/drive train.

Of course, if you are uncomfortable using the helmet then you obviously shouldn't. You don't want to use safety equipment that you don't have confidence in.

And if you do get in an accident and this helmet fails...well then, I've never heard if you.

[beergood]

Oh yeah, helmet looks good also.