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thefactorypilot
6/15/2017 5:39am
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!
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!
Sorry about your brother---that has to be embarassing....
The Shop
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.
Always liked Bradshaw's attire...Here's an idea for a later project.
sorry about the res
Pit Row
How was it to do? I am fucking horrible at painting!
John
Can't wait to see how you progress, especially since you seem to like the same style helmets that I do.
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..
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.
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