Gear Talk: Rattlecan Paint Job - Tutorial

[cdh]

I hope some of you find this useful

Helmet Painting Made Simple - A Tutorial

Please add any of your own ideas, corrections, tips and tricks, questions, etc. to this thread


Thanks

[dlippert]

This is so professionally done it needs to be be published in Sports Car or similar publication. Fantastic job!

[sydude]

Ditto. An automatic Classic. Well done, Dougie!

[dalyduo]

Almost anyone could follow these instructions and produce a wonderful end result. So comprehensive and easy to understand.

Outstanding Doug!

We all win with this one.

Thanks for sharing it with us.

Pat

[cdh]

thanks guys

.

[mike.griese]

Well done! I'm going to be painting mine with some leftover automotive paints that have accumulated over the years from repairing various erm... imperfections in the finish (yeah, that's the ticket) of the cars I have owned. It is very important that anybody trying this with automotive paint get a compatible blocking primer or their helmet could be a molten glob of goo after the first coat.

[cdh]

Originally Posted by mike.griese

Well done! I'm going to be painting mine with some leftover automotive paints that have accumulated over the years from repairing various erm... imperfections in the finish (yeah, that's the ticket) of the cars I have owned. It is very important that anybody trying this with automotive paint get a compatible blocking primer or their helmet could be a molten glob of goo after the first coat.

Thanks Mike - but I don't think I would trust a primer to be compatible with the helmet material and the automotive paint, seems like you could be asking for trouble. I had a mess on my hands once from using the wrong materials, the sucker NEVER dried! There are enough pitfalls with a project like this, give yourself a big advantage and buy some fresh paint you know is a match for the plastic. Good luck, let me know of any good tricks you have.

[rhpearson]

Originally Posted by dlippert

This is so professionally done it needs to be be published in Sports Car or similar publication. Fantastic job!

I ran it in the magazine we have for a sim racing league I race in. It was well received there, particularly by one guy who races a stock car Saturday nights on the Mosport oval.

Robert

[GriffDogRacer]

Inspired by cdh's fine tutorial... and after growing weary of my family asking "which one were you again?", I launched out on a mission to custom paint my helmet. I have a little background in autobody work, so I wasn't starting from ground zero. Nonetheless, I found this to be a fairly challenging project (6-7 on a 10 scale), primarily in the patience department.

I ended up using Martin Senour automotive paints with a Preval spray system from the local NAPA store. This gave me many more colors to choose from, with little added complexity. Total drive out cost was around $150.

Some tips I would pass along for anyone deciding to do this (see attachments for visuals):

1. Have a plan (a.k.a. "start with the end in mind"). There's nothing more frustrating than having to do rework, trust me!

2. With reference to item 1 above, I used automotive detail tape to lay out the basic design on my unsanded helmet first. This added the 3D visual that I needed to add confidence in my design. I used sketches as well but this was very helpful. My shortcoming was that I didn't go far enough to lay out all of the detail first;

3. As previously mentioned in this thread, the correct primer is important. I used a "flexible parts" primer that would typically be used over plastic body parts (bumper covers, etc.). No issues noted;

4. If you're quick, you can spray all the coats in one day. The above mentioned system will allow painting subsequent coats within 24 hours with no sanding in between, assuming your work is run-free;

5. If you use metallics, you have to get the finish right the first time. Sanding kills the effect;

6. I used "Dupli-Color" clear coat... four heavy coats... and that worked well;

7. In the "next time" department, I'll order replacement shield seal and edge molding before I start. That way I can take all that stuff off and not have to mask around it, saving significant time and frustration.


And, thanks again cdh for your help along the way.

gdr

[cdh]

Great looking helmet griffdog - no longer one of the cue balls!

Nicely done...

[dalyduo]

Nice Job Paul...

Like how you can see a house reflected in the helmet just behind the right corner of the visor in the first side shot of the fully painted helmet.

[Slowhands]

Great job, Paul. Unique color combination, definitely high ID value. Looks very professional.

You may want to consider helicopter tape or 3M Scotchgard automotive film over the front dome and chin bar to protect against rock chips.

[GriffDogRacer]

Originally Posted by dalyduo

Like how you can see a house reflected in the helmet just behind the right corner of the visor in the first side shot of the fully painted helmet.

Well... I started by painting the house...

Thanks for the props guys! Hope to see you all at Sebring in Feb. Maybe the helmet will make me faster!

gdr