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Well, I thought I would try out another paint experiment for myself...
Here's the story..
I bought a helmet in '06 when I got my first bike (an '86 Yamaha Radian), it was a deep red color that matched the bike. It was one of those cheapo V-Can helmets you see on Ebay (only cost $50, but hell, it was DOT approved and that's what matters the most).
Well when I got my Kat in '07 I felt stupid running around on a Red Helmet (my bike was a metallic flake black). So I tried repainting it. The results were not great, for some reason the clear cracked and the surface of the helmet looked like a shiny vinyl seat. Whatever, you couldn't tell from a distance. So I rode with that helmet until I got my FZ1, I bought a new HJC CS-12 helmet to match the bike.
Well, I figured I would try to make my old helmet look nice again just to have around. It isn't nescesarily something I'm going to use often, and more of just practice painting, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot.
Used Rust-Oleum Grey Auto Primer, Metallic Silver, and an Enamel Clear.
Basically here's the process:
Used a 400 grit sand paper (160 grit in certain areas) to scuff down the old paint job, went over with the 400 any areas I used the 160. Painted coat of primer, alot of areas cracked for some reason so I had to sand down further, and in other areas where it still cracked I just laid out enough primer to completely cover the cracking (and enough to sand it back down). Wet sanded the primer with 400 and then a 600 to level out the cracks. All of this was about a week long process.
Took the rattle can silver and painted a few thin coats. Waited about 15 minutes then applied the clear. Coated the clear on a bit heavier in certain areas to make sure it was fully covered.
Let it dry for 24 hours.
Wetsanded with 2000 grit until the entire helmet felt smooth. Dried it off, then polished it using this "Kit Scratch Remover" stuff. Came out pretty well I think.
I know there's no "before and after" pics, but I was too busy sanding and painting to do it, lol.
Something I found interesting when using this metallic paint was that there was no orange peel what-so-ever for the silver paint, the clear had a little bit of orange peel but not much. The only reason I needed to wet sand with 2000 is because the metallic flakes in the paint create raised bumps (sort of the trade off to having no orange peel) that needed to be sanded level.
Here's the story..
I bought a helmet in '06 when I got my first bike (an '86 Yamaha Radian), it was a deep red color that matched the bike. It was one of those cheapo V-Can helmets you see on Ebay (only cost $50, but hell, it was DOT approved and that's what matters the most).
Well when I got my Kat in '07 I felt stupid running around on a Red Helmet (my bike was a metallic flake black). So I tried repainting it. The results were not great, for some reason the clear cracked and the surface of the helmet looked like a shiny vinyl seat. Whatever, you couldn't tell from a distance. So I rode with that helmet until I got my FZ1, I bought a new HJC CS-12 helmet to match the bike.
Well, I figured I would try to make my old helmet look nice again just to have around. It isn't nescesarily something I'm going to use often, and more of just practice painting, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot.
Used Rust-Oleum Grey Auto Primer, Metallic Silver, and an Enamel Clear.
Basically here's the process:
Used a 400 grit sand paper (160 grit in certain areas) to scuff down the old paint job, went over with the 400 any areas I used the 160. Painted coat of primer, alot of areas cracked for some reason so I had to sand down further, and in other areas where it still cracked I just laid out enough primer to completely cover the cracking (and enough to sand it back down). Wet sanded the primer with 400 and then a 600 to level out the cracks. All of this was about a week long process.
Took the rattle can silver and painted a few thin coats. Waited about 15 minutes then applied the clear. Coated the clear on a bit heavier in certain areas to make sure it was fully covered.
Let it dry for 24 hours.
Wetsanded with 2000 grit until the entire helmet felt smooth. Dried it off, then polished it using this "Kit Scratch Remover" stuff. Came out pretty well I think.
I know there's no "before and after" pics, but I was too busy sanding and painting to do it, lol.
Something I found interesting when using this metallic paint was that there was no orange peel what-so-ever for the silver paint, the clear had a little bit of orange peel but not much. The only reason I needed to wet sand with 2000 is because the metallic flakes in the paint create raised bumps (sort of the trade off to having no orange peel) that needed to be sanded level.
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