Helmet Paint - Single Colour

[ChapppeRS]

Hi guys, I'm thinking about buying a helmet for track days etc. soon. I was going to get a plain white one, but then thought it would be pretty cool to have it match my car.

I realise the complicated custom jobs are pretty expensive, but could any bodyshop just paint the helmet Ford Imperial Blue for me?

[flemke]

ChapppeRS said:

Hi guys, I'm thinking about buying a helmet for track days etc. soon. I was going to get a plain white one, but then thought it would be pretty cool to have it match my car.

I realise the complicated custom jobs are pretty expensive, but could any bodyshop just paint the helmet Ford Imperial Blue for me?

You may want to talk about whether they're going to mask the rubber along the edge or peel it back, and you'll want to take care with the aluminium screw heads for the visor (assuming full-face) because they mark easily, but otherwise it's just paint. Make sure that original surface is properly sanded to create tooth; some of the helmet coatings may not respond to a chemical primer.

[speedychrissie]

As flemke has said, it should be fine but make sure you research it first. I know that some helmets cant have stickers put on them because they react with the helmet skin and weaken it, so make sure that wont happen with certain types of paint. I believe it affects the cheaper (karting etc) helmets but I cant remember.

[Red Firecracker]

Polycarb helmets tend to be the ones that react to paint, and shouldn't be considered for custom paint work, stick with fibreglass.

Also, removal of the rubber trim and or the interior padding/shell can be detrimental to the helmet and can nullify its adherence to British Standards. It's worth Googling for some custom paint/airbrush sites as they will have lots of info on painting helmets.

I've heard (and seen) good stuff from this guy;

http://www.mikepdesigns.co.uk/home.html

[speedychrissie]

Red Firecracker said:

Polycarb helmets tend to be the ones that react to paint, and shouldn't be considered for custom paint work, stick with fibreglass.

I've heard (and seen) good stuff from this guy;

http://www.mikepdesigns.co.uk/home.html

I knew there was something about which materials to use. Thanks for clearing that up.

I am surprised at just how cheap that bloke is! £60 for a professional single colour paint including 10 coats of lacquer seems like a bargain! Even full designs for £120 upwards seems very cheap. I might have to look into his stuff further at some point.

[flemke]

Red Firecracker said:

Also, removal of the rubber trim and or the interior padding/shell can be detrimental to the helmet and can nullify its adherence to British Standards. It's worth Googling for some custom paint/airbrush sites as they will have lots of info on painting helmets.

It's personal thing, but I've painted some helmets myself and, although I would never touch the liner or padding (no need to do), I always want to peel back the rubber edge in order to make a neater job. It's just held on with cement, and has no structural function whatsoever. On some helmets it's not really feasible to peel it back, but where it's possible it's worth doing.
If instead you mask the rubber edge, you will end up with an inevitable tape edge (or gap of exposed undercoat) at the juncture between the paint and the rubber. These edges and gaps are visible even on the helmets painted for Formula One drivers, and IMO devalue the job.

[AlpineWhite]

No different to a paintjob on a car - only half a job if it's not had the glass out.

[Red Firecracker]

flemke said:

It's personal thing, but I've painted some helmets myself and, although I would never touch the liner or padding (no need to do), I always want to peel back the rubber edge in order to make a neater job. It's just held on with cement, and has no structural function whatsoever. On some helmets it's not really feasible to peel it back, but where it's possible it's worth doing.
If instead you mask the rubber edge, you will end up with an inevitable tape edge (or gap of exposed undercoat) at the juncture between the paint and the rubber. These edges and gaps are visible even on the helmets painted for Formula One drivers, and IMO devalue the job.

If your masking is good enough and you use the correct materials to mask, there shouldn't be a noticeable edge. If the helmet manufacturers are suggesting not to remove the trim (as Arai and Shoei do) I prefer to leave alone.

All personal preference of course, up to a point.

[flemke]

Red Firecracker said:

flemke said:

It's personal thing, but I've painted some helmets myself and, although I would never touch the liner or padding (no need to do), I always want to peel back the rubber edge in order to make a neater job. It's just held on with cement, and has no structural function whatsoever. On some helmets it's not really feasible to peel it back, but where it's possible it's worth doing.
If instead you mask the rubber edge, you will end up with an inevitable tape edge (or gap of exposed undercoat) at the juncture between the paint and the rubber. These edges and gaps are visible even on the helmets painted for Formula One drivers, and IMO devalue the job.

If your masking is good enough and you use the correct materials to mask, there shouldn't be a noticeable edge. If the helmet manufacturers are suggesting not to remove the trim (as Arai and Shoei do) I prefer to leave alone.

All personal preference of course, up to a point.

I cannot say whether there should or should not be a noticeable edge, as it depends on who's trying to notice. I can say that I have inspected much work by the people who are known for having the best painters in the sport, and it's noticeable. On some Arai models you can't very well peel back the trim, but on others you can. There are no structural issues. It's not really debatable that, when you are able to continue the paint under the edge of the trim, the job will be perfect, whereas when you're masking it may not be.

[35secToNuvolari]

Where does one learn their sense of craftsmanship?