New Helmet Painting

[airartist]

I am getting ready to start painting 2 brand new Harley helmets. I am going to sand and prime them and then apply the base color and Intercoat clear before I begin the mural work. Is there anything I should know about the primer or do I need an adhesion promoter? I have done a few helmets by just sanding and priming without an adhesion promoter and so far the results have been a success. These helmets are the $250 Harley helmets and I DON"T want aything to go wrong even 5 years down the road. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[LudicrousSpeed]

Why even apply primer if they are brand new? Just sand the gelcoat down and paint directly over them.....

You shouldn't need any adhesion promoter on the helmet or the primer. I guess it depends on the intercoat clear......

 

[DDG]

Personally I would epoxy prime them first, then base.
If you don't you could see the paint bubble up later due to the mold releases and waxes used in production.
Trust me I've been there. I even epoxy prime plastic baseball helmets.

Dirt

 

[rex]

Wrong time of year now but if you're worried about any type of mold release agents just 'sweat' the part.A good cooking in the sun usually does it and then wash it well with soap and water but anything to heat it up to 120-140 will do.I dont think helmets fall in this catagory but flexible plastic parts do.

 

[Bornhard]

damn that mold release $#!+ It can really drive you nuts!!!

I've got a question on top of the topic of this forum. OK, lets say you prime a DOT helmet with that trim that won't come off, or is really difficult to remove. How do you go about taping it off and then painting it w/o leaving a sliver of primer exposed. I started to put a strip of blue fine line on top of all my masking. Soon after priming, I pull off the blue fine line to prevent a nasty edge in the primer, or having the primer cure to the tape.

I guess what I want to know is some tips on masking out the trim on racing helmets and those DOT helmet where the trim is a %itch to remove. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tonofbricks.gif

 

[airartist]

In Craig Fraser's book he mentions using a catalyzed polyester sealer to lock in the mold-release waxes. I guess my question has been answered. It's better to be safe than sorry.
Does anyone have any particular product they prefer?

 

[newbie]

airartist,
Keep in mind that if you ask 3 different respected helmet painters on choice of primer, you would probably get 3 different answers.

 

[DanS]

I have been using HOK KO Seal 11 to prime helmets with after a good sanding. My kids have done a couple of good spills on their dirt bikes and knocked off some of the paint. I have been impressed at how good it adheres because the paint gets pulled off to a layer deeper than my primer. In other words, it adhered great. As far as masking the rubber trim on helmets, I use 1/2 inch blue fine line tape because it is flexible and follows curves and comes off much much better than masking tape when you are removing it. I do like the idea of a second piece of tape that can be removed and replaced after a couple of coats to prevent excessive build up at the edges. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/peace.gif

 

[rex]

I'm no help on this one but Joe's idea of the extra tape is good and I think I would just use a thin nonsanding sealer to prime with to keep it thin.The only one I ever did I put a thinned down coat of DP epoxy down for a sealer and started painting.

 

[LudicrousSpeed]

I guess I just got luck with the helmets I painted. If they were new, I cleaned them with wax and grease remover, scuffed them up and shot 'em. Never had one bit of problem.

The tape thing is a bitch, and I never have figured out a really good way to do it..........

 

[rex]

I have noticed with helmets the good expensive ones come apart fairly easy but everyone wants to buy the cheaper ones to have painted.Just like everything else for the most part,you get what you pay for so it should be priced accordingly.

 

[alienboy]

Don't use laquer thinner on it at all...trust me. (Thats a 300 dollar mistake on my part.)

still shuddering from that one.

 

[airartist]

Thanks so much for all of your advice. I am going to shop around for some Epoxy or Polyester primer/sealer. I will check the local PPG supplier.
This sight is AWESOME. I have been painting for many years, and this allows every level of painter to learn something new every day. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif