How To Helmet

Without trying to sound like I'm bragging, I have to point out a few things before I start this "How-To". I tend to do things the long, hard and sometimes unorthodox way. I've always said to myself that I would never compromise quality for quantity. Yea, I know, I'll never get rich with that train of thought. I've succeeded in gaining a reputation for top-notch quality work and that's what keeps clients coming to me all year long. It may take me a little longer using these methods but I produce a flawless finished product (with a guarantee) this way and yes, my prices are double that which what most painters charge. You will last a lot longer in this business by taking the time to give every customer a perfect job rather than banging them out for a quick buck.

#1 STARTING THE PROJECT
Remove as much of the inside lining as possible. Most of the newer helmets have removable lining that just snaps out. You want this out because after wetsanding a few times the inside will get wet and the last thing you want is to hand the client a helmet that the inside smells like mildew. Remove the mouthpiece and any other external parts, like visor, shield, etc.

#2 STICKER REMOVALE
There are several ways to remove the stickers. You can use a heatgun or hairdryer. Use just enough heat so you can peel them off easily. Do not burn them or you might bubble the paint. You can use either lacquer thinner or degreaser/wax remover (PPG DX330) to remove the left over glue. Another way to remove stickers is with a specially designed tool (Astro-Pnuematic) that is like a large eraser that removes stickers and the glue without harming the paint. This tool is a little pricey but is great for removing stickers and tape pinstripes off of cars.

#3 TAPEING RUBBER TRIM
This step comes after you prep the helmet for primer. I wanted to put it in at this point because before you prep the helmet you will need to tape up the rubber trim so you don't scratch it or damage it in anyway. Before starting any prep work mask up the rubber trim with ½" or ¾" 3M Masking Tape.

Before you primer the helmet you will want to remask the rubber trim. This not only cleans out any dust that might have stuck to the tape but give you a fresh sharp edge. I don't remove any of the rubber trim. It seems that no matter what you glue it back on with, it will eventually start coming back off, either from heat or just plain usage. You will destroy the rubber on most of the newer style helmets if you try to remove them so just leave them be. If you have a good eye, you can lay masking tape around the bottom and face rubber, giving about 0.5mm to fold over the lip of the rubber. You can always use a razor blade to trim the tape flush with the helmet. Take Masking Paper and mask off the inside and face opening. Make sure you tape off the inside of the nosepiece and any vents.

#4 PREPING AND PRIMER
You want to make sure you remove all the shine off of the stock finish. If you don't you will either pull paint as your working on it or the paint could release from the surface somewhere down the road and you'll have a very pissed off customer. Start by sanding with 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper. You can use a handheld soft rubber-sanding block to keep the surface uniform, but never use a hard or rigid sanding block (You'll end up with a square helmet). Clean and dry the surface. Take a Red Scotchbrite pad and remove the gloss on all the hard to reach areas. Make sure you get into all edges good. You wouldn't want to catch an edge of an area that was missed and pull paint when you unmask the job. Fill any nicks or chips with a putty like Evercoat Lightweight Spot Putty.
Use an air nozzle and blow the surface off. Wipe the helmet down with a wax/grease remover and a tack rag, and you're ready to primer. If you are painting a visor, you will need to shot it first with an adhesion promoter or bonding clear (basically the same thing).
Primer the helmet. I prefer to use an Epoxy Primer like PPG DP-48LF. This way I know I will not pull any paint while working and the job and is an insurance policy that the finished job will never come back due to paint peeling, lifting or cracking. Let the primer sit over night, guide coat it and wet sand with 400 grit wet/dry. You have to do this step because the epoxy primer has a 24hour window on it, after that it gets too hard and paint will not correctly bond to it. Once you reopen the primer with the 400 grit, you won't need to do it again. The DP-48LF is white and makes it easy to sketch illustrations on and is easy to remove pencil lead from.
#5 PAINT & GRAPHICS
All painters have their own systems and taping procedures that they like to use. I prefer PPG's DBC System, especially for illustration because it is very airbrush friendly and dries within a matter of minutes or seconds, depending how heavy you lay it on. For basecoats and graphics I use mostly House Of Kolor Shimrins. They dry extremely fast and you can tape on them in minutes. If you are doing some intense detail work you might want to protect it throughout the process with an Intercoat Clear like PPG DBC 500. Better safe than sorry. You wouldn't want to pull up those eyes you just spent a half an hour on perfecting and pull one right off the surface. I use a combination of masking tape, fine line tape and transfer tape) to lay out my patterns. The transfer tape is a very low tack, semi transparent, and easy to cut. I've never been one to use spray masks, I can mask faster with the transfer tape.
#6 CLEARCOAT
Once all of my graphics and illustrations are done I like to stop and add 4 coats of clear at this time. Clean the entire surface with a wax/grease remover (A single oily finger print can cause clear to fish eye.). Gently wipe off any lint or debris with a tack rag. Your first coat of clear should be a light tack coat. This helps prevent any missed contaminates from destroying your work or running any colors together. Depending on what VOC clear you're using, lay anywhere from 2 to 4 coats of clear. You're going to be sanding the helmet again so you want to make sure that you don't go through the clear and hit color. I use a medium build clear (Matrix MS-20, which is a direct replacement for PPG's old Concept 2020, so I shoot 4 coats).

#8 FINAL CLEARCOAT
Repeat Step #6

#9 COLOR SAND AND BUFF
Use a soft hand block and wet sand the helmet with 1500 grit wet/dry. You want to remove all orange peel. You can check this by drying the helmet and looking for any glossy areas. Once you removed all the gloss you know the orange peel is gone and the clear is level. Wet sand again with 2000 grit wet/dry. All you are doing here is removing the 1500 grit scratches and making it easier to buff. (Here's a little trick so you don't shoot the helmet across the room and destroy your job. Take a full gallon of Bondo, shove the helmet all the way onto it. The weight of the gallon can will hold the helmet in place so you can buff it easily.). Buff with a compound such as 3M Perfect-It II Micro Finish and use either a wool pad or foam pad. I prefer the foam because it doesn't leave any swirl marks. Once you've removed all the sand scratches with the compound, wipe all the excess compound off and switch pads to a foam-polishing pad and polish to a high gloss finish with 3M Perfect-It II Foam Polish. Wash the helmet with soap and water and dry with a soft cloth like an Absorber (available at Wal-Mart). I think these work the best on a fresh clear coat. They don't leave any scratches. Now you are ready to reassemble and collect your cash.
This might seem like a great deal of work, but I can turn them in 3 days and charge a high price. Believe me, a lot of people are willing to pay big money for one of a kind, show quality and better yet, guaranteed job. You can turn even higher profits by assembly lining 2 to 3 at a time. It doesn't take much longer if you have more than one going.

This is my method for doing helmets. Keep in mind that I do not have the facilities to safeley (I would if I did!!!!) spray the uro's, laq's, and other solvent based paints as I spray in my dungeon (basement! LOL). This is aimed at those of us that are "solvent based paint challenged" LOL Any clearcoating and base coats are done by a friend (you can have it done at some body shops in your area as well). This was meant to be posted for our December contest but I got quite behind on many things and now have the time to do it. My apologies. This is the method I came up with through reading online how to's, trial and error, and numerous questions I have posted on this and other clubs. Here we go.

1) Mask all areas NOT to be painted after removing all hardware on the helmet. Examples face shields (if present), vent covers ect...
NOTE: I have the owner do all of this so if anything is broken, it there ass not mine.

2) Wash your hands with plenty of soap or put on surgical gloves and thoroughly degrease with a wax and grease remover or alcohol. Some people use regular 409 cleaner but I have never tried it myself. Be very thorough as to get not only the grease, but the release agents from the factory molds as well. Be sure to remove decals and stickers first (if present), being sure to get ALL the glue residues off.

3) Knock the shine off the helmet's clearcoat with 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper and degrease again.

4) Take to whomever will prime and basecoat the helmet with an automotive urethane system such as PPG, House of Kolor, Sherwinn Williams...ect. I prefer House of Kolor or PPG. I also prefer one good coat of clear (or intercoat clear) as well.

5) Remask if necessary and scuff with 400 or 600 grit wet/dry or a red scothbrite pad. Wash gently with soap and water and air dry. I towel dry then go over with a tack rag.

6) Prepare your paint with the bond all and catalyst for maximum adhesion as the label says. I thin my paint "a little" with distilled water. Never thin more than 15%-20%.

7) Tape out your graphics/flames if you are adding them, mask and spray and/or apply your the artwork in lite coats, building your color as you go along.

8) When you're finished, go over with a heat gun CAREFULLY as it is easy to scorch you paint and ruin your work.

9) Unmask and remask for other graphics if neccessary repeating steps 7 and 8.

10) Remove your masking from areas to be clearcoated and let the helmet cure for 24-48 hrs.

11) Take your helmet to the person doing the clearcoating for your final clearcoat (If neccessary. Number of layers vary according to which clear you use). I usually have my guy do 3-4 coats with the House of Kolor UFC-19 (I think that's what he shoots'em with. I leave that to him as he knows best. He also does the buffing for me.

12) Buff to a deep gloss and enjoy!!!

Final Note:
It can be costly having someone else do your basecoating and clearcoating but in my predicament it pays to have a knowledgable source performing those tasks. Like I said earlier, if I had the facility to do so safely I would do it myself, but untill that day comes,this is the way I do it. Hope you all enjoyed this.

Gary