Backyard Helmet Resto 101

If you have been following the BA blog then you know that I picked up a sweet sweet helmet last week. Copped a super good deal on it. The thing was straight up beat. I had to bring it back to life before I could even think of trying to ride my bike with this thing on my cabeza. I have pretty low confidence when it comes to anything that requires some skill in the garage. Especially when it comes to paint. But Stone painted one of his brain buckets a few weeks ago and it turned out dope. So I thought, what the hell, no better time then now right. Here is a quick photo recap of how she turned out.

Here's what I was working with

If you are attempting to re-paint an old lid, and you want it to turn out legit, be prepared to spend about 60 bones in materials.

Step 1: Sand then Primer, 2 coats. In hindsight I should of gotten a "Filler" primer since there were some major dings in the fiberglass. Oh well, they add street cred.

Step 2: Base Color. I was all over the board on what color to choose. This was supposed to be the base on my 3rd round of color choices. I ended up liking it so much that I changed up my kit mid spray. I ran 6 coats of Dark Cherry.

Step 3: Painters Tape. These lines were pretty freestyle and I totally wrote off the thought of them turning out even with each other.

Step 4: Stripe Color, 4 coats.

Step 5: Clear, 6 coats. I got busy with the clear. Layin it on thick!

Step 6,7,8,9: Wet Sand, Rubbing Compound, Polishing Compound, Wax. This is where I really tested my confidence. In any past painting experiences I have failed to Wet Sand. Reason being, it scares me. After seeing how dull my glossy clear got I felt like I was reliving the past. After a few calls to homies that have paint experience they gave me the boost of confidence I needed to continue sanding until it felt like glass and looked like shit. About an hour of running the rubbing compound cycle and I was set to polish this bad boy out.

I think Stone's helmet turned out like glass. When I embarked on this project all I wanted was for mine to turn out half as sweet. I would of been satisfied with a reflection of a silhouette. I got one step better, a full on mirror finish. I am pretty pleased with how my lid turned out, especially for spray bombing it. I relined it after the final coat of wax. Tomorrow will see its maiden voyage.

Watch out DARTH