Painting a Pro-Tec

[PalmettoTiger 1]

Hi folks - I bought a new Pro-Tec last week (boy am I stylin' now!!) and I want to tiger-stripe it. Does anyone have any experience with painting designs on pro-tec (or similar) helmets? I'm interested in recommended types/brands of paint, whether or not the paintjob lasts through heat cycling/direct sunlight/bad landings, and even what type of brushes to use.
Thanks in advance,
PTiger

[jfields 0]

PTiger,
That is a sweet idea. I'm looking at a full-face for RW, but I love my Pro-Tec for solo fun jumps. If I decide to paint mine too, relax, it won't be in tiger stripes. Justin
My Homepage

[OmriMon 0]

hey pt if u can find some guy who paint with air brush go to him!
my sister can do some pretty cool things with her air brush, there's different type of paint for ever surface and it looks real sharp
Free Skies,
Omri A-38593

[skydog 2]

Make sure you use a paint that bonds with the surface. I painted my protec with dog paw prints all over. It looked great until I put it on and all the paint cracked and the paw prints fell off!!!

[PalmettoTiger 1]

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Make sure you use a paint that bonds with the surface.

Okay. What type of paint did you use that didn't work? Home exterior (oil) or interior (latex)? Scale-model paint?

[AHetherington 0]

Hey Tiger,
I turned my old student Pro-Tec into a freefly helmet. I had the full helmet, but cut the ears off to make a half helmet. I then painted it with normal 99 cent enamel spray paint. I striped it fading three colors into each other. It worked pretty well, but there is some cracking around the rivets for the new chinstrap and the edges of the helmet. I don't think you can totally avoid that, but one idea would be model paint. Toy stores sell it and Testors (a brand) now makes a simple airbrush system that is pretty cheap. That paint is made to work on smooth plastics and is probably the best bet. Otherwise you can do spray paint, but prep the surface. You need to roughen up the helmet some with sandpaper (small scratches even over the whole thing). That will help the paint stick, and after one coat, you won't see the scrathces. I'd stay away from the brushes for the whole helmet, it takes too long and will be a thicker coat. Use the brushes to write your name or do artwork over the base paint. Hope this helps!!
Blue skies,
Aaron

[PalmettoTiger 1]

Wow! Aaron, that's exactly what I needed to know. You r0X0r.
Pictures to follow (when I get around to it, of course).

[Kris 0]

The Testor's airbrush system ROCKS! That's what I used to paint my Bonehead. I painted one half with jade Testors metallic flake and the other half with purple Testors metallic flake. With the airbrush I was able to lighten it just enough so that the carbon fibre can still be seen underneath the paint.
Kris

[FliegendeWolf 0]

An old thread I thought I'd dig up for some advice. I like my new-to-me Protec. I don't, however, like the idea of walking around looking like I have an oversized Robin's egg on my head.

If I were to use normal enamel spraypaint, would I need to cover the helmet holes somehow to prevent paint from getting on the inside of the helmet?

A One that Isn't Cold is Scarcely a One at All

[SkymonkeyONE 3]

Pull the pads out, tape the holes from the inside, then paint it. Very simple.

[FliegendeWolf 0]

Oh yeah...

I bet a brainfart like that could clear out an airplane fast!

A One that Isn't Cold is Scarcely a One at All

[freeflyguy 0]

There is also a product you can buy from an autobody shop. I think it is called bulldog. It is a paint/primer stuff that prepares plastic car parts to accept paint. Spray that stuff on first, then paint it with whatever you like. It makes paint stick very well to plastic, and helps keep it flexible.

----------------------------
bzzzz

[squink 0]

Omri, you're the greatest!

...the door was open

SKYDIVERGIRLS.COM

[efex 0]

Hope the following tips help dude:

1. use plastic bags to cover up all the padding on the inside, unless you pull it out.

2. get craffy with the masking tape and cover up any rivots etc you dont want covered in paint.

3. get some (very fine to fine) sanding paper and gently remove all the varnish that uselly comes on the helmet. You know youve sanded enough when you have an all over matt dull helmet.

4. buy either a black or white, depending on what your primary colour is going to be, model primer. You can buy this from most model shops and simply acts as a base to provide a good surface for further paint to adhere too.

5. buy the paint you need for your design. I would recommend any acrylic paint that is in liquid form (dont get the stuff in tubes). You also need to get an acrylic thinner. Make a mix of about 50/50 - thinner to paint, give it a good shake and throw it in whatever spraygun youve got. You could use paint brushes with unthinned acrylic paint, but you will more than likely be left with brush marks.

6. buy some acrylic varnish. (usually shops which seel small tubs of acrylic paint will also sell similar size tubs of model varnish). Again thin this down to 50/50 and spray this over your final helmet design.

7. after letting the first coat of varnish dry for ATLEAST 24 hours (cant stress this enough, as it might seem dry, but the underneath can still be very wet), spray the whole helmet again with more varnsh

8. Repeat step 7 atleast two more times. This makes sure you have a nice protective layer of varnish, so that when the helmet does get scratched and dented it wont scratch through to your design.

9. Remove all the masking tabe and plastic and behold your new custom designed helmet.

If you follow those steps I am sure you will be happy with the results,

Warwick University Skydiving Club

[ChrisL 2]

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Hope the following tips help dude:

Your tips are almost 4 years too late dude

The guy posted his question in September of 2001

__

My mighty steed

[flypunk 0]

take a look over there, and yes I am the one who did it so yes it can be done successfully. Have fun.

Taking it to a guy who airbrushes is a good idea if you are willing to drop $100- 165 worth a paint job on a $20 helmet.

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1592437

...

[mjosparky 3]

You can make it easy on yourself and your budget by using this stuff. Works great.

Krylon Fusion

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[efex 0]

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Your tips are almost 4 years too late dude Wink

The guy posted his question in September of 2001 Cool

hehehe, my bad. Dont always check the posting date ;)

Warwick University Skydiving Club

[tdog 0]

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Hope the following tips help dude:

Your tips are almost 4 years too late dude

The guy posted his question in September of 2001

Thanks for bursting my bubble that I was 4 years younger... Now I am all confused.