helmet painting

[Guest]

ok, so i decided to customize my helmet a bit.
i found a pic i like:



and masked it off:



now the question is.. I have two options for painting it. i can paint it by handy ( i did spend 4 years in art classes in highschool, and not just because it was easy 8-[) or i can spray bomb it all. or, of course, a bit of each. i dont know a whole lot about paint besides i know i need to rough up the area, and clean it throughly with some prep fluid. if i bomb the solid colour, and then hand paint the shadows, i'm not sure if it'd look alright. any opinions?

[bonanzadave]

Im no authority but......

Some paints and chemicals can cause plastic and even some composite (fiberglass) helmets to break down.

Maybe someone in the know will chime in.

Could you do that in a decal ?

[seuadr]

Im no authority but......

Some paints and chemicals can cause plastic and even some composite (fiberglass) helmets to break down.

Maybe someone in the know will chime in.

Could you do that in a decal ?

i don't know how to do decals, i dunno. i planned on using acrylic, if that is helpful, either way.. and then a few good coats of acrylic clear over the whole helmet when i'm done. i figured i'd want to sand the whole helmet in probabl 600 or 1000 to prep it, and then of course mask off the vents and remove the shield, etc.

i hope that's not the case.. i'm poor! i imagine a decal would be expensive?

[Zooks]

Do a search. We've covered this in detail before - numerous times.

Generally, painting a helmet is not a good idea if you like your head.

[seuadr]

Do a search. We've covered this in detail before - numerous times.

Generally, painting a helmet is not a good idea if you like your head.

well, shoei said acrylic paint is OK and that is what i'm planning on using.. so. the only solvent i planned on using on the area to clean it up is a little windex or rubbing alcohol. and i'm definitally not planning on baking it or anything like that.
perhaps i will try to use reflective tape and paint that.

[Zooks]

Fair enough then. You're right, it's the solvents that will *uck it up.

To 'scuff' the helmet you need only use 1200 wet rubbing paper. Rub it until it is dull.

[seuadr]

Fair enough then. You're right, it's the solvents that will *uck it up.

To 'scuff' the helmet you need only use 1200 wet rubbing paper. Rub it until it is dull.

alright. good to know. the helmet spent some time in a closet, so it's got little nicks here and there. basically just the clear coat of the helmet.. but i'd like to touch it up. where i'm putting that picture, if you look close at the masking area pick, was rubbed with something that looks like sandpaper.. although i can't imagine what it was in a closet!

[Zooks]

Often a scotchbrite pad is enough to scuff shiny paint. That's what the auto paint shops use.

[bonanzadave]

Do a search. We've covered this in detail before - numerous times.

Not nearly as often as Oil, Chain/shaft, Dem/Rep or Religon...:-D

There are a ton of places painting helmets as a business. Are they causing problems on all of them ?

[Zooks]

One difference - they know what their doing.

(no offence seuadr)

[seuadr]

none taken. i'm new to paint. which is why i choose acrylic, it's forgiving, you don't need lots of chemicals to use it, and it's CHEAP!

[buster]

A couple of the place that I have seen, one that turned my buddies helmet into a screaming skull, uses acrylic and airbrushes it on the helmet. And yes they used a scotchbrite pad to scuff everything, but I don't remember him using rubbing alchohol to clean it afterwards. Not 100% sure but I thought it as just clean water, no smell that I remember.

That was two years ago, he was swipped last year and from what we can tell the helmet held up but had a reason to scream afterwards...the poor KZ though...man I loved that bike.

[seuadr]

ya i think i'm gonna try it by hand first.. and then if i'm not happy with the results i'll sand it back out and spray bomb it with a rattle can of acrylic

[PAULYBOY]

NOOOOOOOOOOOO! STOP! Try to link on this TCPGlobal.com and you can find inexpensive airbrushes. If you just wanna do a couple easy jobs, whats 50 bucks? Then, go to a local art store and ask for some Createx brand paint suitabl for textile applications. They're acrylic, almost ready to use, you may have to thin 3 or 4%. If you're willing to practice a little and be careful , then you, like me can turn out some cool artwork.

[seuadr]

NOOOOOOOOOOOO! STOP! Try to link on this TCPGlobal.com and you can find inexpensive airbrushes. If you just wanna do a couple easy jobs, whats 50 bucks? Then, go to a local art store and ask for some Createx brand paint suitabl for textile applications. They're acrylic, almost ready to use, you may have to thin 3 or 4%. If you're willing to practice a little and be careful , then you, like me can turn out some cool artwork.

thanks for the heads up, but i litteraly don't have 50 bucks to spare :P
i'll keep it in mind though!