Any helmet painters out there?

[Madbrush]

Thank you so much for recommending something I can actually afford to start out with (I totally get that quality is not cheap but I'm willing to deal with a lesser quality gun for at least a little bit). The Iwata looks really nice but I actually think I should stay away from something capable of super detailed work for now, because I will get so hung up on mastering little itty bitty thing that I'll neglect to practice the basics.

Welcome to the forum E, I wouldn't suggest settling for a lesser quality gun for any length of time at all, you shouldn't start out the idea that "I can always buy something better later", many who start out rubbish give up fairly soon because of it, they second guess themselves and blame themselves when it's their equipment that let let them down, so I recommend you buy the absolute best you can afford from the start and then your journey into the world of airbrushing will long and carefree happy one

You say you are a broke student, well if that is actually you in your avatar, simply bat those lovely eyelids at your dad and he will give you everything you need

 

[Oddball]

Hi E, welcome from N. Wales.
All the above is good advice. I would re-enforce what has been said about your choice of brush, buy the best you can afford because in this game you do definitely get what you pay for!
Keep us up to date with your progress

 

[AK_EO12]

Welcome to the forum E, I wouldn't suggest settling for a lesser quality gun for any length of time at all, you shouldn't start out the idea that "I can always buy something better later", many who start out rubbish give up fairly soon because of it, they second guess themselves and blame themselves when it's their equipment that let let them down, so I recommend you buy the absolute best you can afford from the start and then your journey into the world of airbrushing will long and carefree happy one

You say you are a broke student, well if that is actually you in your avatar, simply bat those lovely eyelids at your dad and he will give you everything you need

I actually looked up the Iwata someone reccomended and I can totally afford it hah. I was thinking it would be like 300+ but that particular model was less. Now I'm just searching websites to see which one has the best deals (or the elusive free shipping eligible to Alaska)!

That is me in my avatar! And even though I would love to do that I already have to put on my princess face for help with my horses .

 

[AK_EO12]

Hi E, welcome from N. Wales.
All the above is good advice. I would re-enforce what has been said about your choice of brush, buy the best you can afford because in this game you do definitely get what you pay for!
Keep us up to date with your progress

Thanks! I looked again at the prices for the Iwata and the particular model I want is totally affordable and less spendy than I thought. Now my biggest concern is the paint I'll need to hunt down for the prep part for the helmets I want to work. I think my best bet might be to buy expired helmets off eBay or something and just use them for practice (that way I can get away with using cheaper primer) until I can get the feel for the airbrush.

 

[Oddball]

I have never done (or even seen) a hockey mask so I have no idea what they are made of but there are pepole here who have done them.
Basically if they are plastic you will need a plastic primer but if they are like glass fiber and you decide to go down the Auto Air water based route the base sealer will work as a primer / base coat.
Which ever paint you use ,the surface will need to be scuffed and the most common method is using a Red Scotchbrite pad after a good de-greasing.

 

[Madbrush]

I actually looked up the Iwata someone reccomended and I can totally afford it hah. I was thinking it would be like 300+ but that particular model was less. Now I'm just searching websites to see which one has the best deals (or the elusive free shipping eligible to Alaska)!

That is me in my avatar! And even though I would love to do that I already have to put on my princess face for help with my horses .

Well I would assume you refer to the Iwata HP-C, a very wise choice, even if you have to pay for shipping you still can't go wrong with it, although, I don't have one they are the most recommended for beginners, many of our members have then and those who do love them, they are rugged compared to other Iwata stuff and supposedly easy to clean.

While your waiting for your stuff to arrive, have a good root through the forum for handy tips on cleaning and maintenance of all your equipment, how you treat your gear will determine how long it will serve, check out the tutors YouTube channel where you find all kinds of handy info, and get asking those questions.

And, I don't think you need to work too hard at achieving that "princess face", I on the other hand would probably need about two weeks of intensive theatrical make up to even get close to one, but my wife at least thinks I'm cuddly

 

[Mr.Micron]

Hi! I would have never even thought of taking it to a shop, that's a fantastic idea! There are tons of mom and pop places in my hometown, I will definitely keep this in mind once I get to painting. I've heard that some paints make helmets less safe, I've got some good recommendations above, but what paints should I AVOID at all costs?

What deems a helmet unsafe is covering the DOT tag on the back . When you are in a crash the first thing the police look at is the helmet (if helmet laws apply in your state(which they do not in Indiana) as long as they see the DOT tag and it does not look as it is has been tampered with that is the end of it.
But paint and clear coat really does not effect the safety of the helmet but it can effect how the law looks at it with out the DOT tag in place.
There are a few places i have heard of where you can order new DOT tags but I have yet to try and find them.

 

[littlerick]

welcome from the uk

 

[ad fez]

these fine ladies and gents have totally got you covered..... all that is left for me to say is welcome from a sunny u.k

 

[AK_EO12]

I have never done (or even seen) a hockey mask so I have no idea what they are made of but there are pepole here who have done them.
Basically if they are plastic you will need a plastic primer but if they are like glass fiber and you decide to go down the Auto Air water based route the base sealer will work as a primer / base coat.
Which ever paint you use ,the surface will need to be scuffed and the most common method is using a Red Scotchbrite pad after a good de-greasing.

I'll need to do research, I think Goalie helmets are made from Fiberglass, I've read some are made from Kevlar though (maybe the inside or something). Can I use Auto Air without having a professional set up? Obviously it's good safety to use a mask and spray in a well ventilated area but do is it like using the 2k-clear where you need to be completely covered?

I think this is the part that's going to drive my insane because I've read some stuff about paints compromising the safety of the helmet, I've also seen people just spray painting their goalie masks but I don't trust the paint in rattle cans...

 

[AK_EO12]

these fine ladies and gents have totally got you covered..... all that is left for me to say is welcome from a sunny u.k

Thank you!

 

[AK_EO12]

What deems a helmet unsafe is covering the DOT tag on the back . When you are in a crash the first thing the police look at is the helmet (if helmet laws apply in your state(which they do not in Indiana) as long as they see the DOT tag and it does not look as it is has been tampered with that is the end of it.
But paint and clear coat really does not effect the safety of the helmet but it can effect how the law looks at it with out the DOT tag in place.
There are a few places i have heard of where you can order new DOT tags but I have yet to try and find them.

I think I am just going to have to email/call a professional goalie helmet painter and beg them to explain this to me. No one really seems to talk about this in youtube tutorials or on websites (rightly so I guess). I think for Hockey helmets it's more an issue of the warranty of the helmets & some leagues have rules about 'non certified painters' painting helmets. I think what I have been seeing on other pictures/videos is that they just mask the warranty sticker on the helmet. *Goes back to desperately searching inter webs*

 

[Eveliina]

Welcome from Finland E.! I am not a helmet expert but i have done couple. With goalie helmets great thing is that you dont have to worry about any foams melting. I suggest you pay attention in which order you take parts off when you are assembling it. And yes, there is a sticker on the back plate which has to be there to show it is approved to be used in games. You can try to take it off (heating it a little may help) and reapply it after you are done or mask it very carefully. These are my thoughts on subject. [emoji4] Happy painting!

 

[AK_EO12]

Welcome from Finland E.! I am not a helmet expert but i have done couple. With goalie helmets great thing is that you dont have to worry about any foams melting. I suggest you pay attention in which order you take parts off when you are assembling it. And yes, there is a sticker on the back plate which has to be there to show it is approved to be used in games. You can try to take it off (heating it a little may help) and reapply it after you are done or mask it very carefully. These are my thoughts on subject. [emoji4] Happy painting!

Awesome! That's great to know Eveliina, it sounds like USA Hockey and HECC don't really care what you do w/ goalie helmets as long as that sticker isn't taken off or destroyed. I've even read somewhere that you used to be able to get the stickers in bulk but I'm not sure if that happens anymore. I think I might just mask it off when I start painting.

Thank you for your insight!

 

[splasha]

Welcome from Australia!
Sounds like the crew have you sorted.
As for plastic helmets, I'd search out someone in your neck of the woods and go see 'em.
The worst that can happen is a fruitless road trip, but the best is that you get good advice and find out how they go about doing one.
Plastics can be fickle when it comes to paint, but as any house painter will tell you, it's all in the prep work.
This axiom applies to plastic as well.
Get that right and half your battles won.

 

[Squishy]

Welcome from the UK I can totally recommend the Iwata Hp-cs, a work horse, that after practice gives great detail, and I is a great combo with the wicked that Meesh recommended too, I use this combo all the time

I wish I could just use my dads compressor but I'm fairly sure an industrial sized air compressor meant for tires would NOT work very well with an airbrush it's almost as tall as I am! (It would look funny though..)

This is pretty much exactly what I use, my hubs has an industrial sized one that he uses for his air tools. All we have done is put a splitter on it after the main water trap, and run an additional hose with a seperate regulator for my airbrush. The main advantage is that although it's louder than hell, I can run it for hours before it kicks in.

 

[Eveliina]

Awesome! That's great to know Eveliina, it sounds like USA Hockey and HECC don't really care what you do w/ goalie helmets as long as that sticker isn't taken off or destroyed. I've even read somewhere that you used to be able to get the stickers in bulk but I'm not sure if that happens anymore. I think I might just mask it off when I start painting.

Thank you for your insight!

Sounds good. Stack of stickers would help tho. But good masking tape which doesn't tear the whole thing off will do! [emoji4] Oh one more thing. Don' t forget to put on plastic primer/adhesion promoter first. Ok, time to sleep in this part of world. [emoji42]

 

[AK_EO12]

Welcome from Australia!
Sounds like the crew have you sorted.
As for plastic helmets, I'd search out someone in your neck of the woods and go see 'em.
The worst that can happen is a fruitless road trip, but the best is that you get good advice and find out how they go about doing one.
Plastics can be fickle when it comes to paint, but as any house painter will tell you, it's all in the prep work.
This axiom applies to plastic as well.
Get that right and half your battles won.

Honestly the closest person that I know of is in Anchorage....about a 600 mile round trip but you're right they might be worth a call! I think I have a handle on the paints except for what actual brand of primer/base coat to use. I've seen videos of people just using spray but I am really leery of going that route. It could be that I'm forced to do that until I figure out what the heck I'm doing haha!

 

[AK_EO12]

Welcome from the UK I can totally recommend the Iwata Hp-cs, a work horse, that after practice gives great detail, and I is a great combo with the wicked that Meesh recommended too, I use this combo all the time



This is pretty much exactly what I use, my hubs has an industrial sized one that he uses for his air tools. All we have done is put a splitter on it after the main water trap, and run an additional hose with a seperate regulator for my airbrush. The main advantage is that although it's louder than hell, I can run it for hours before it kicks in.

I'm hoping to get some clarification soon about using the one I have! I'm going to have to figure out what parts I'll need and then do my best not to jump when it turns on and ruin my design! Like you said this one is LOUD! So painting at 2 am when my family is asleep might not be my best idea if I use this haha.

 

[Squishy]

Lol, yeah I've been caught out a couple of times But Once you work out how long a tank will last you, you can just time yourself, and even switch it off so that it doesn't kick in. Just make sure you set an alarm or something so that you save yourself enough air to clean the brush out.