Painting my helmet

[Snoopy]

First of all not sure if this is the right spot but if not im sure it will get moved.  anyway, i have a hankering to paint my helmet to match my bike.  Anyone know the right color to paint or an idea, right now i have a Rodia modular helmet, its less then a year old otherwise i would just buy a new one.  the fairing on my bike was painted to match and i do have some paint left over from that.  the only thing is that paint is old and has sat in the weater i.e. has beeen in a shed where it was the same temp as it is outside and im sure its been froze and damn near boiled.  any ideas would be appriciated and any numbers for a close paint color match would be nice...



here is a pic of the helmet but i do have a smoked visor on it..

[CraigF]

I'm assuming you want to match the blue?   Take one of the side panels into a paint shop that can color match.   I plan on taking the stock fairing from my 700 S in to get some blue paint for my tank and side panels.

[Snoopy]

yes i am looking for some type of design and color match to my 700s.   

[hang man]

I thought you're not supposed to paint your helmet !!!! ....I've read some place that it degrades it's structural capabilities or something like that ....

[niteman]

I've read the same stuff about not painting the helmet...can't remember where though...

[JordanA]

I thought you're not supposed to paint your helmet !!!! ....I've read some place that it degrades it's structural capabilities or something like that ....

That has got to be the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!   

I mean, c'mon!

[Bumblebee]

That has got to be the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!   
I mean, c'mon!

Actually the discussion made the rounds a while back and to some extent it made sense.
If you use chemical strippers, particularly the wrong ones, it definitely has potential to compromise the integrity of the underlying fiberglass or high impact materials underneath. (I recall a discussion with an aircraft paint shop owner that said there are strippers out there made for steel and certain paints that will do really bad things to aluminum. Based on some things we did in the science labs in university, you certainly can turn well cured high grade fiberglass into soft mushy goo with the right stuff) Then you get into the fanatical discussions and manufacturer advice about helmet integrity where if slap your hand down on the helmet, you imparted a force into the material that could technically compromise the integrity beyond what the helmet could withstand if you hadn't slapped it. Someone even mentioned something about even putting stickers on the helmet could technically degrade the integrity to some minor extent depending on the adhesive used. IOW anything that's not absolutely pristine is compromised.

The real world general consensus that I've been able to discern is that if it falls from seat height and it's not happening daily, as long as your head isn't in it when it hits the ground, it's good to go...and if you want to paint it, just use good judgement, proper paints for the job and don't use a belt sander to take the original paint off. IIRC there is a motorcycle specialty shop in the midwest somewhere that specializes in helmet repainting that knows what they're doing.

[dbracing]

If painting a helmet compromises the integrity, do you think the FIA would allow all the F1 drivers to paint theirs?  Just asking........

[Snoopy]

Well if and when i do paint, i will be sainding it myself, only enough to take the outter clear coat off to get a good painting surface.  As of paint i havnt decided what i want to use yet.  I may just rattle can it and see how it looks, if worse comes to worse, i do it over.

[Brittles]

Color Rite shows the blue for an '86 being available. Not sure if thats the same blue as your '85 though.

http://www.colorrite.com/matrix-colors.cfm?CFID=816170&CFTOKEN=52752971

[JordanA]

You don't have to sand the clear coat completely off, just scuff it enough for the new paint to adhere.  Afterall, clear coat is little more than a clear paint. 

Bumblebee... for the average person with common sense, this should be a non-issue.  If you're dipping your helmet into a chemical bath to remove the old paint well then... let Darwin be proud.

[CraigF]

Color Rite shows the blue for an '86 being available. Not sure if thats the same blue as your '85 though.

http://www.colorrite.com/matrix-colors.cfm?CFID=816170&CFTOKEN=52752971

The Blue from 86, which is part of the red/white/blue paint scheme definitely does not match the blue from 84 and 85's black/blue paint scheme.   The 86 blue is darker--more of navy blue.

I have an 84 but my tank is from an 86 r/w/b and the blues clashed quite a bit. 

[fishmeister]

Those vinyl graphic places will do anything you want to save a file of. AND you can peal it off and get a different one anytime.

[Snoopy]

I am also looking for ideas of what/how i should paint my helmet...all ideas welcome!

[Brittles]

Color Rite shows the blue for an '86 being available. Not sure if thats the same blue as your '85 though.

http://www.colorrite.com/matrix-colors.cfm?CFID=816170&CFTOKEN=52752971

The Blue from 86, which is part of the red/white/blue paint scheme definitely does not match the blue from 84 and 85's black/blue paint scheme.   The 86 blue is darker--more of navy blue.

I have an 84 but my tank is from an 86 r/w/b and the blues clashed quite a bit. 

Yeah, I kinda' figured that. Otherwise they would list it for '84's and '85's.

John

[bbrovold]

I painted an older Shoei flat black once. It was pretty much crap after that.

I am also looking for ideas of what/how i should paint my helmet...all ideas welcome!

[IROCFST]

Thats what I was thinking for my helmet and front fender.

Those vinyl graphic places will do anything you want to save a file of. AND you can peal it off and get a different one anytime.

[fishmeister]

you can even tell them the approx. sizes and apply it yourself.....with a little knowhow.

[daffej]

I work at a graphics shop and could help you out with your helmet if you don't have a shop near you. Depending on how close you want the blue to match the bike we could either use stock blues or find the PMS code that is closest to the blue and print it. Printing has a UV clear coat so it wont scratch easy and the sun wont fade it as fast. If you have an idea for a design let me know and I can try to come up with something for you. I'm personally designing a entire bike wrap for mine at the moment. Since I've never wrapped a bike before only cars it will be written off as training 

[itsjam4u]

hey you could always use this stuff when you paint your helmet I am going to try it, plus It should have an added saftey factor as well http://nighthawk-forums.com/index.php/topic,1571.0/highlight,nasa.html

[LOKi]

If painting a helmet compromises the integrity, do you think the FIA would allow all the F1 drivers to paint theirs?  Just asking........

F1 drivers spend something like $40,000 for a searing wheel. You think they are stripping and painting their own helmet? Those are custom made helmets.

[Maxx]

If painting a helmet compromises the integrity, do you think the FIA would allow all the F1 drivers to paint theirs?  Just asking........

F1 drivers spend something like $40,000 for a searing wheel. You think they are stripping and painting their own helmet? Those are custom made helmets.

I was going to ask what a searing wheel is but I changed my mind...lol

[zippy]

i have heard that if you scuff the outer surface with 000 steel wool, you then have a good enough base to use polyurethane or you can use a mild acrylic paint. IIRC, most all helmets are clearcoated using polyurethane.

[Maxx]

I wet sand with 1500 grit.
Steel wool is oiled so you would should use a solvent afterwards.