08 Oct Painting a Helmet with Paint Pens
The painting of a Helmet
Scylla wrote in that she bought the Paint Pen Techniques DVD but wants more detail on painting a helmet. Here are her questions and my answers:
1. Do you sand it first? With what? You gotta knock the gloss off of it so I sand the helmet with 400 to 600 grit paper. Make sure you get all the glossy spots off.
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2. What do you prime it with? If the helmets white, you don’t need to prime it. Otherwise I’d get a spray primer, there are a lot of brands to choose from. Krylon has a flat white primer that I like.
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3. After applying then design do you clear coat it? Yes, but it depends on what kind of finish you want, and how much money and time you want to spend. The helmet in the video I sprayed it with Polyurethane. I sprayed it many times. If you want a killer finish, you have to spray it over and over and over again.
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4. Anything else I should know? It’s all about the experiment. You have to try a lot of different things to learn what works best. Don’t be scared, just go for it!
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Life is Good – Drew (Follow me on Twitter)
Here’s the video clip of my Helmet Painting:
Trey
Posted at 16:48h, 09 OctoberI have a question about the helmet. If your helmet has the Decal wrap that comes on it like a lot of helmets how do you get that off.
Drew Brophy
Posted at 19:08h, 09 OctoberHow to get a sticker off: First, you’ll have to scrape it off. A sticky residue may be left, and you’ll have to use some kind of adhesive remover to get the sticky stuff off (any hardware store will have it). And then sand it. It’s going to be more work to get that off than it will be to paint it!
JD
Posted at 08:21h, 12 OctoberAlways low watching your vids…great different technique.
To add to the clear coat, I assume most people will be using a spray bomb to clear there helmets. By far the best spray from a can is Spray Max 2K Clear Coat. It is one of the few clear coats in a can tat is a 2 part clear, and will harden and shine better than any 1K (most cans). It will provide a more durable finish, and as mentioned is a two part clear without having to use a compressor or a gun.
Johnathon
Posted at 11:12h, 19 MayI have to agree with you on that post you said that the best clear coat is the 2k and so is the actual colors from the same company in the 2k paint it’s also the same as the clear coat you mentioned it’s got the Gardner in a little sealed container that’s inside the actual spray can and the lid of the can has this removable button that pops off and is to be put under the bottom of the can and then your supposed to take the can and set it on a very stable hard surface and then push the whole can down firmly but carefully until it makes a popping sound and that’s the hardner inside opening up then need to shake it for 2 minutes and you have I belive 48 hours once it’s be activated to use it before it gets to hard and setups inside and can not spray it out.
Randall
Posted at 04:48h, 09 SeptemberJust wondering how you smooth the paint before you clear coat? My markers leave buildup and look uneven as I fill in large areas. Do you have to polish the paint job before you clear coat? If so, how do you do that? Thanks Drew. You Rock…
Delena
Posted at 05:40h, 20 OctoberHi! Thanks for the help. I want to paint my helmet as well, but are unsure because many websites and the label on the helmet itself says that it will be damaged if one paints it. Is this true?
SoulScriber
Posted at 01:30h, 09 JuneHey Drew,
I was wondering if you would ever make a step by step tutorial on how to paint a guitar, like: how to sand, how to paint, how to polish so the paint doesnt look so bumpy, and how to clear coat it .. what kind of materials you use , etc . I’d love to learn how your products come out so amazing !!
SoulScriber
Posted at 01:56h, 09 Juneand are there ways to paint the KNOBS to different colors? if so, how?
João Branco
Posted at 11:30h, 02 OctoberHello Drew!!
I am from São Miguel Azores and i am thinking about painting with posca pens my surfboard. So i have some dificulties to know how to star painting because i am thinking to clean well the surfboard and than paint with posca pens without sanding. Is it possible that it works without sanding and clearcoating? or the ink will get out with the water?? if it is not possible i wonder if you could tell me how to do it.
Thank you very mutch, and i am a fan of your job.
Sorry if my English is not the best!!
João Branco
Elizabeth
Posted at 08:59h, 26 MarchThank you so much for all of this information!
My husband bought a helmet and said, “Do it up!”
I’m a graphic designer and have painted tanks before, but never a helmet.
My husband even went out and got the Sharpie poster paint pens we saw in your video!
Now to get the Krylon white primer.
You rock!
-Elizabeth
dimo
Posted at 09:01h, 31 Mayhow you dry the helmet after the painting?
just by wind? or heater?
caycee
Posted at 10:56h, 08 Decemberquestion: i’m actually painting one as a christmas gift, do you use oil-based or water-based Sharpie paint pens?
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Posted at 09:54h, 26 MarchI really want to do this to my ski helmet! 😃😎
Johnathon
Posted at 11:06h, 19 MayHello everyone calls me jb, I’m just wanting to say that I’ve been really impressed by the markers you have in the video that used to do the helmet. I am also very artistic and have been all my life well since I can remember I was about maybe 6 and I’m now 35 and have been drawing, painting, tattooing, graphic design on computers and I’ve been in the custom automotive work for about 20 years now and love it. I have built motors and stereo system and paint jobs with airbrushing designs. I have never seen any markers like the ones you have that I have found and don’t either dry up really fast and also stop working once you touch another color it like stops or like erases the other color I’m next to and then it won’t work anymore. Also they seam to remove the color I’m doing if I like color a good size space and then go back over a part of it that I’ve just did it like erases it also or removes the color for example say I’m coloring a star in with blue and the outline is silver the blue will erase the silver and show the white primer underneath or the same if it’s just the blue over lapping the same blue but is dry and I go over it again it will take it away and shows the primer under it. What’s the problem with this I am talking about with the expense paint pens that have a ball inside and shake it up just like spray painting and have to push the end to get the paint to come out more and so on. So I guess my question is where can I buy the same exact marker pens you have in the video and do I need to wet sand it with 2000 grit after I do the main colors and designs before I clear coat with the final painting. Please let me know and can email me at my personal email jbgixer1000@gmail.com thank you very much. Also if I wanted to just have you do some work for me how can I contact you and what is your prices for a custom helmet like in the video persay I wanted it identical to the one in the video what’s the cost to me for everything and do I need a helmet first or do you have helmets and sell the helmet and paint job together