Painting a helmet

cool.

cool.

Active member
ok, so i have a helmet that i want to paint a different color and i need NS's help...
has anyone ever painted a helmet before? i checked out how to paint skis and thats the direction im heading right now...
any words of wisdom?
 
ive never done it but i deffinatly would put 2-3 coats of polyurthane on it after you paint the helmet. This way the paint wont chip off as easily

 
i painted mine 2 years ago turned out completly fine, just take your time and do nice even coats and let dry. patience is the key
 
no seriously i just used regular spray paint but if you want it probably wouldnt be a bad idea to use krylon fusion
 
DO NOT paint your helmet, the paint reacts negatively with the plastics the helmet is made out of and causes them to break down, giving you a weaker helmet and ultimately could cost you your life.
However, since it's not my head, if you really do wanna paint your helmet, grab some 500ish grit sandpaper and rough up the surface of the helmet. Then get whire primer(makes the finishing color brighter) and put on 2-3 lighttttt coats, or until you have a solid finish. DONT do one thick coat. Bad bad bad. NExt get your color you want the helmet to be and again, do 2-3 coats. Then, 1-3 REALLY light coats of clear coat and that paint will be there to stay.
 
Yeah its true. I went to a snowmobile class and one of the things they said was not to paint it for the reason you just mentioned.
 
thanks a lot guys, anyone have ideas on what color to paint it or any designs that might be sick
oh yeah, i am painting my helmet because i have 2 of the same, same color too

 
there used to be a guy on NS who made custom paint jobs on helmets, i wonder if he's still around

i believe dweezil has one
 
i thought that was just if it went on the foam...cuz i know from biking you cant put bug dpray wiith high deet on you helmet cuz if it goes on the foam it will weaken it also....
 
im not worried about my helmet because i have two of the same, i may not wear it, i dont know yet... but thanks for the input
 
im pretty sure i didn't say that, i'm not sure, i will probably end up wearing it, but i just want to play around with paint, and i don't want to sell it... im not worried about it getting weaker though
 
put a dope sticker on after you paint it one color, then paint it another, then peel the sticker and you have something amazing
 
i know it might weaken it, but im still considering it, for my threads. i have a bern baker hardhat, so its kinda a helmet, but not the same material as most, do you konw if theres a risk of it being weakened?
 
chill man, i have more than one helmet. i was planning on using the helmet i want to paint just for park and inbounds stuff. for serious charging i got a different helemt, and i might be getting a full face
 
use rustoleum spray paint. It is super durable. you can put super sick designs on it with masking tape too. But yeah, take time to tape off well, do lots of thin layers and make sure its totally dry before spraying again. good luck.
 
If you have the money or a store that sells it use Montana paint or alien low pressure spray paint both will give you the most solid cover...Personally I would use alien if you can get it because it is really easy to do even coats with the low pressure and it always turns out nice if you can not fuck up the even part
 
i wouldnt put paint on my helmet, even if i got paid for it. because i would never get it nice and smooth.
AND, the paint might just be the thing that makes your skull break when you are putting your bail on.

have fun, be safe
 
Seriously... so what if you have 2 helmets?
People die with helmets that fully protect you, not weakened. Why would you risk that? If you paint it, it weakens it... park, inbounds, doesnt matter... why would you wear a helmet that you know isn't protecting you? You are just as likely to get your head worked in the park as anywhere else.
do you guys know how helmets work?It isn't because they are hard, it's because they crack instead of your head cracking. It takes away the impact. if it weren't for the helmet breaking down a little every time you hit hard, helmets wouldn't do anything to help.
DON'T paint a helmet you are going to wear. It's just a horrible idea. Bern, Giro, POC, whatever your helmet is, they are all essentially the same material, and they all work the same way.
 
sorry dude, i understand your trying to help me out in the long run, but im not too worried about it i just wanted some ideas/hints on how to do it
 
I'm not trying to hate, sorry if it seemed like it. I just don't understand it.
good luck with it either way
 
i appreciate it man, i just feel like painting something, and i figured my helmet would be the thing, but i might reconsider now...
and in the spring if my skis last, im going to paint them using YOUR way of doing it... mad respect
 
Do you have a bike? paint it instead. use the mthod i wrote out above and itll work prefectly. If you have any problems taking it apart or just questions in general, ask me or look on pinkbike.com
 
No offense to everyone advising this guy not to paint his helmet; respect for trying to keep him safe, but honestly... Im not recommending you do it at all, but I would argue the damaging effect of paint on the plastic shell is minimal. of course someone like an instructor or helmet company would say not to alter it in any way, such people need to be overly cautious, and with good reason. As far as helmets being made out of the same material: not true at all, please know what you are talking about (do some research if you are not sure) before making such bold claims. I personally have a fibreglass shelled helmet (i.e. not plastic and non-reactive with spray paint). I have a feeling the Bern helmet in question here is also fibre glass (check it out though). If you can, without damaging the foam at all, remove the shell, I would do that. This will ensure no damage to the most important part of the helmet: the foam (for helmets like the sandbox one, with closed cell foam, Im not so sure. I just wouldn't use one of those at all). Also, you could get an airbrush or pneumatic spray gun and do it. I can say with a high level of certainty that this would not damage even a plastic shell of any kind (don't quote me on this though; Im just giving points to consider and would recommend you extend your research to some more reliable sources than NS before taking any action). Hope this helps. And hey, perhaps we should direct the brain injury suggestions towards the thousands of people who just plain don't wear helmets... or mouth guards for that matter. how many people here wear a mouth guard? I know mine has saved my teeth and brain. I'm pretty sure they do an amazing job at reducing brain injury. anyways, this is getting way to long. this is a dangerous sport, have fun, be safe, but also don't take it to the point where you're just loading yourself up with padding so you can 'progress'. it will forever be dangerous as that is the nature of skiing. (i feel that this is the direction mountain biking has taken, and for anyone who was at Crankworks I think you may have an idea of what im talking about: lots of cool stuff, but a lot of stupid, huge, dangerous stuff too). end of rant. i have an assignment to do.
 
one of tanner's friends did it, its his bike helmet though-

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I have a sick small little stencil, I think I;m gunna try to spray paint it, just on the side...anyway, let us know how it wen
 
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