custom painting helmets, photos and jibba jabba

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custom painting helmets, photos and jibba jabba
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flag obee1
Posted: Mar 5, 2008 at 21:48 Quote
ok, i paint helmets sometimes. i make lots of things/art, some better then the airbrushing i do, some worse. a coupla things are for sure- the way i paint em isn't necessarily the best way, and i'll forget a buncha details that you might wanna ask me about airbrsuhing while i post this stuff. i'll try to be as clear as i can. there've been a coupla folks asking me about how i airbrush stuff, and a coupla people asking me to paint a helmet for them. if you, dear pinkbike reader, are interested in getting someone to custom airbrush a helmet for you, expect to pay $500 if its a full face, well painted helmet. god, go to troy lee designs, you'll pay well over $1000 for a custom paint job. they do a great job of course, and their production helmets/decals are rad too.
so anyway, if you're into getting started in airbrushing, the initial cost is kinda high, but afterwards the paint is quite cheap, and it can be a art making process that can direct you to pretty good experience for jobs in the trades- body shop stuff etc.
if you are in high school, etc. and like to draw, i will only say that i wish i got into airbrushing when i was a grommatron or a teen, its a pretty cool medium, and lots of douchebags who are pretty crappy artists make a living doing it, so why can't you. don't believe me? go look at a half dozen custom harleys, and half the paint jobs are shitf*ckinggaymiamivicegarbage. for real.

ok so here my setup

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two line compressor-iwata made- qtips(i use lots), createx paint cleaner, golden paint reducer-for mixing paint

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iwata airbrushes. i use an HP-A, HP-b, and HP-C. i use a syringe to clean out the guns a lot, exacto knives, tape, magnifying glass(theres tons of tiny crap in airbrushes to clean)

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createx auto air automotive paint. its cheap, and works pretty good. golden reducers for mixing the paint. you can't paint straight from the bottle, its too thick, and clogs the gun.
flag barnz0rz
Posted: Mar 5, 2008 at 21:51 Quote
what about like goalie mask style?
i've been waiting for someone to be rocking the old ron hextall/andy moog bear mask on a full face.....
flag obee1
Posted: Mar 5, 2008 at 22:06 Quote
barnz0rz wrote:
what about like goalie mask style?
i've been waiting for someone to be rocking the old ron hextall/andy moog bear mask on a full face.....

for real. i was thinking about doing one actually. i was gonna do a hockey mask like the one that was covered in stitches-from back in the 70's(i think a bruin wore it) or else the fang one that was worn in slapshot- on the side of a mtn bike helmet. thought itd be cool.
flag thrice
Posted: Mar 5, 2008 at 22:07 Quote
I would just like to comment on that helmet on your profile. I've told you before. Its awesome. Eddie means a lot to me, my dog who died recently was named after him and I was so close to him.

Anyway, props on the Aces High airbrush.
flag obee1
Posted: Mar 5, 2008 at 22:13 Quote
thrice wrote:
I would just like to comment on that helmet on your profile. I've told you before. Its awesome. Eddie means a lot to me, my dog who died recently was named after him and I was so close to him.

Anyway, props on the Aces High airbrush.

cool. sorry you lost yer dog. pets are important to me. my wife loves our cats more then she cares for me. waddya gonna do.
i appreciate the props, i love maiden alot. i saw em in the 80's a coupla times, and since they regrouped i seen em too. great band. so great. i was drawing eddie ever since "killers" or "piece of mind" came out.
flag Hummeroid
Posted: Mar 5, 2008 at 22:18 Quote
finally the setup :-) Still waiting on the govt check to get mine painted! Dont know how long thatll last though, since in the last 2 rides i've managed to kill the visor and chip my chinbar pretty well!


I want to see some "show off" shots of one of your helmets clearcoated, well lit and well shot, I think theyd be stunning!!!
flag barnz0rz
Posted: Mar 5, 2008 at 22:18 Quote
yeah, some of the classic mid to late 90's goalie masks would look rad on full faces... some of the new ones are rad too... i like luongo's and cam ward's a lot... i used to play goal and would draw goalie masks all the time.... i should get into it for full faces.....
flag shondo
Posted: Mar 5, 2008 at 22:56 Quote
very cool Obee1, keep this thread up and running as a regular update on yer stuff. good to see. My business partner swears that a little earwax applied to the needle will keep those Iwatas pulling smooth and sweet. He also swears that the airbrush cleaner solutions are far inferior to Fantastik and Windex. Go figure. I could never get the fukkin things to stop spitting. I like the way yer woman's giro lid is lookin.
flag obee1
Posted: Mar 6, 2008 at 7:36 Quote
Hummeroid wrote:
finally the setup :-) Still waiting on the govt check to get mine painted! Dont know how long thatll last though, since in the last 2 rides i've managed to kill the visor and chip my chinbar pretty well!


I want to see some "show off" shots of one of your helmets clearcoated, well lit and well shot, I think theyd be stunning!!!

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this is the best finish i have on a helmet. its pretty glossy, and the photo doesn't show all the detail that can be seen when its in front of you. i would set up the helmets for a proper photo shoot, but i am a lazy f*cker, and i prefer just to take shots of em while we are riding or about to ride. cheers hummeroid
flag obee1
Posted: Mar 6, 2008 at 7:43 Quote
shondo wrote:
very cool Obee1, keep this thread up and running as a regular update on yer stuff. good to see. My business partner swears that a little earwax applied to the needle will keep those Iwatas pulling smooth and sweet. He also swears that the airbrush cleaner solutions are far inferior to Fantastik and Windex. Go figure. I could never get the fukkin things to stop spitting. I like the way yer woman's giro lid is lookin.

earwax sounds like a good idea. i find the best way to control the paint spitting is to put little amounts in the gun and strain it through a panty hose before it goes in the gun. and use a fair bit of reducer.

i used fantastic for a cleaner, and when i spray out the gun i shoot it into a garbage can with a small hole in the lid. but the fantastic vaporizes and just fills the room and chokes me out. so i clean it out with createx stuff. it works ok, but its annoying to have to clean so much.

shondo any other deets you can pull from your partner is full on appreciated. i am sloggin along with this paint medium and learning from any mistake i make. i much prefer to learn from others mistakes. lol.
flag obee1
Posted: Mar 6, 2008 at 8:01 Quote
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start with a plain helmet. the more matte, the better. taking off stickers sucks ass, and leaves scratches. i personally don't care too much about under the paint scratches, but others do. i started with a matte black remedy, comes free with kitty.

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sand off the clear coat. its even on the matte lids. but not thick. i started with a 200 or 400 grit, and went up successively to 1200 grit. there were a few decals on the lid, and once i got through the clear, they razor bladed off pretty easy- they even sanded off easy.

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up close you can see that i went through the paint a bit down to primer as i sanded. you can also see the circular sanding i was doing, by hand always. i hate prepping lids.

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on the visor it said "remedy" or some shit, and i went through the paint to get it off. some primer showin through. don't sand it too much, but don't lose sleep over it if ya do.

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ya gotta mask the holes, and lose the padded inserts before ya paint. i guarantee, that every time ya want to be lazy and not mask something-but you don't want that area to get paint on it- you will get paint on it. preach!
i use cheap ass masking tape for this, but never on the surface of the helmet. masking tape leaves a residue that shows up under the clear, and f*cks with paint that goes over it. regular masking tape pulls off paint too. use frisket to cover paintable surfaces. IMHO.

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i cover the face hole. paint will get in there-bad. and sometimes i'll shoot paint on it just to see how the gun is running. its just a good idea to cover it up.
flag dirtjumper25
Posted: Mar 6, 2008 at 16:31 Quote
Very Nice Obee1. Im liking the Tips. I hope mine will work out fine. So I should probably start sanding first? How far do I sand down to. How do I know when to stop sanding. You know I got the same helmet.
flag barnz0rz
Posted: Mar 6, 2008 at 19:01 Quote
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THAT IS F*ING SICK!!!!!
flag lcstay10
O+
Posted: Mar 6, 2008 at 19:04 Quote
how much do you do it for???
flag dirtjumper25
Posted: Mar 6, 2008 at 19:16 Quote
lcstay10 wrote:
how much do you do it for???

He said $600 my friend. great deal considering thats like the price of a number on your helmet done by Troy Lee Designs.
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