So I Painted a Helmet... Opinions Please!

6/15/2017 5:39am Edited Date/Time 6/16/2017 12:43pm
So to start off Ill say Id previously never used an airbrush, spray gun, etc... But I've been in need of a new hobby and I've always wanted to paint helmets. That being said...
Its an 89 Bradshaw inspired design, and I learned a ton of lessons in the process, and about the process.
The helmet itself was a beat-to-shit ten year old FLY used by my brother racing cross country on his quad. After I got started I realized that I should have done a lot more surface prep. The trim was damaged beyond repair so I did what I could with it. Learned a lot about masking, and I also realized too late that I didn't lay down enough clearcoat. But hey, it's my first time!
I built my spare bedroom into a painting studio, and I already have started on my second helmet.
Im only doing it purely for fun as I have a career that allows me to buy all the paint I need!
Well, comments and opinions please. And yes, Im aware of the many flaws!











1
|
DA498
Posts
1567
Joined
10/11/2008
Location
Milliken, CO US
6/15/2017 5:42am
Looks good from my house!
Mini Elsinore
Posts
1968
Joined
8/17/2006
Location
Huntington Beach, CA US
6/15/2017 5:50am
Nice job!
Sorry about your brother---that has to be embarassing.... HuhTongue
dl117
Posts
1549
Joined
2/8/2007
Location
Cambridge, MN US
Fantasy
2546th
6/15/2017 5:59am
looks good, I am by no means a painter but give my best shot, my next thing is to try an air brush.

The Shop

-MAVERICK-
Posts
49947
Joined
3/26/2015
Location
Ontario CA
Fantasy
3682nd
6/15/2017 6:00am
Nice job pulling off that era. As for what you need to work on you already know.
dl117
Posts
1549
Joined
2/8/2007
Location
Cambridge, MN US
Fantasy
2546th
6/15/2017 6:21am
a couple of my boys helmets, and one of his custom frames









JRT812
Posts
2730
Joined
3/4/2014
Location
Cottontown, TN US
6/15/2017 6:23am
Nice job!
Sorry about your brother---that has to be embarassing.... HuhTongue
He is the shame of our 2 wheel motocross family!
Hahaha and it looks good
6/15/2017 6:23am
Hell of a lot better than what I could do!! Looks great man. I'm sure you'll learn quick from your mistakes and each new helmet will continue to get better and better. I don't know a ton about painting, but I do know the importance of prep prep prep. Good luck and keep just having fun with it
6/15/2017 7:05am
I was a graphic designer before my current career...
Also I have spent the last year practicing with a set of Mack Quills teaching myself signwriting so I can freehand names and numbers on a helmet.
After buying a few hundred bucks worth of cheap spray guns I finally decided to invest in quality and bought a sweet Iwata 400.
Im sure that the 2nd one will go much smoother.
Heres my idea sketch...The base will be a paul tracy-esque rectangular grid with the shadows and white dots and such.
Some glitter dark blue, flo blue and flo pink.


dl117
Posts
1549
Joined
2/8/2007
Location
Cambridge, MN US
Fantasy
2546th
6/15/2017 7:10am
I was a graphic designer before my current career... Also I have spent the last year practicing with a set of Mack Quills teaching myself signwriting...
I was a graphic designer before my current career...
Also I have spent the last year practicing with a set of Mack Quills teaching myself signwriting so I can freehand names and numbers on a helmet.
After buying a few hundred bucks worth of cheap spray guns I finally decided to invest in quality and bought a sweet Iwata 400.
Im sure that the 2nd one will go much smoother.
Heres my idea sketch...The base will be a paul tracy-esque rectangular grid with the shadows and white dots and such.
Some glitter dark blue, flo blue and flo pink.


That will be sweet, I dig the old school shit for sure.
davistld01
Posts
8680
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
Springfield, MO US
6/15/2017 7:18am
Good job. Looks very similar to the artwork style of custom helmet painters in that era.
Firefly47
Posts
597
Joined
8/26/2015
Location
Fayetteville, GA US
6/15/2017 7:45am
Nice job. You still flying?
Badd127
Posts
497
Joined
12/2/2016
Location
SE
Fantasy
2116th
6/15/2017 7:58am
Looks good to me. I'm interested to see helmet No:2
Old-Man
Posts
8021
Joined
10/21/2011
Location
Colorado springs, CO US
6/15/2017 8:06am
Good Job!
Always liked Bradshaw's attire...Here's an idea for a later project.



sorry about the res

Boarddesign
Posts
1106
Joined
12/13/2010
Location
Fallbrook, CA US
Fantasy
1860th
6/15/2017 8:09am
Aside from the issues you had and know what to fix next time, it looks really good. Your eye for design and how to execute it is surprising. One of the hardest parts is to figure out the steps or order of what you are trying to accomplish and also sizing can be tricky to visualize with tape. I say well done.

Crush
Posts
20957
Joined
4/26/2009
Location
Sydney AU
6/15/2017 8:20am
Awesome!

How was it to do? I am fucking horrible at painting!
AzTrooper
Posts
221
Joined
7/5/2012
Location
Benson, AZ US
6/15/2017 8:25am
I think it looks fantastic. You did a great job !
John
TriRacer27
Posts
5450
Joined
2/7/2009
Location
Dallas, TX US
Fantasy
42nd
6/15/2017 8:34am
That's flat out an awesome job for a first timer. Seriously, looks great!

Can't wait to see how you progress, especially since you seem to like the same style helmets that I do.
peelout
Posts
17859
Joined
1/6/2011
Location
Ogden, UT US
6/15/2017 8:37am
needz moar skullz
Moto Mofo
Posts
853
Joined
1/17/2008
Location
TX US
6/15/2017 9:26am
I love it. Now master the Bradshaw replica from '92 or '93, and I'll pay you to paint mine.
jeffro503
Posts
27442
Joined
7/22/2007
Location
St Helens, OR US
6/15/2017 9:51am Edited Date/Time 6/15/2017 9:53am
That helmet looks pretty damned good man! Good job on that! Reminds me of some of the older 90's helmets the factory guys were wearing. I'd wear that thing in a heart beat!

6/15/2017 10:16am
Moto Mofo wrote:
I love it. Now master the Bradshaw replica from '92 or '93, and I'll pay you to paint mine.
Taking money would absolutely ruin the fun of it. Like I said I do good enough with my job.
However Id gladly do it for free... I wanna get a few more under my belt before I paint someone else's!

My gripe with how the first one turned out (aside from surface prep) is that due to not using enough clear, I wasn't able to wet sand away the orange peel texture... If you look in the eye sockets of the skull, you can plainly see that I didn't /couldn't sand deep enough. I was starting to get colors in my water runoff from the wetsand and I knew I had to stop before I ruined it.

Heres my spray booth and some pics of the process..











Zaugg
Posts
1084
Joined
9/1/2012
Location
Not California, CA US
6/15/2017 10:37am
Looks good.

If you're not seeing the surface issues before you lay down clear then it's how you're laying down your clear. If you see surface issues before, then you need to spend more time prepping.

Orange peel happens for several reasons. Not having your gun set up correctly, pressure, and the amount of material you put down are all factors. I'm assuming you're using an HVLP gun to lay down your clear. An airbrush would suck for this step in the process.

Curved surfaces are a little harder to coat evenly but with practice, it will happen. Orange peel happens somewhere between not enough material and the point where it starts to run. If you're using a water based paint, the clear tends to be a little "slippery" so be mindful of that as well. I'm also guessing your booth set up has a rotating helmet jig. If not, I'd "engineer" your current set up to rotate. The overlap from stopping and starting can cause those inconsistencies in the clear as well.

Again, practice makes perfect. Do test shots and when you have your settings down, you won't have to spend as much time wet sanding.





IWreckALot
Posts
8676
Joined
3/12/2011
Location
Fort Worth, TX US
6/15/2017 10:38am
peelout wrote:
needz moar skullz
Dammit I thought for sure you were going to put your painting of the horse or whatever that disaster that you post all the time is.

Post a reply to: So I Painted a Helmet... Opinions Please!

The Latest