DarthBiscuit

Taped off the bottom and realized spraying will probably go best if I spray from this angle, and then hang it on the stand! Sprayed as evenly as I could... I noticed a few runs, so I gave it 30 minutes to dry. I then tried gently sanding with 800. It worked in a few spots, except for this one... Should I just spray some more primer? Should I sand to 1,000 instead? Will I need to do glazing putty again? It's pretty upsetting cuz I was hoping to paint tomorrow.

Sanded the black interior to 800 and applied a 2nd coat. Tomorrow I'll tape off the openings from the inside and spray my last coat of primer!

My paint finally came in last night! Applied the first coat. My paintbrush BARELY held together...it was the widest one in the house. I think I have a foam brush I can use for the 2nd coat tomorrow. I am VERY HAPPY with a black interior and glad I postponed my last coat of primer so I didn't have to worry about overpaint!

Easy enough! Do you know how thick those ABS sheets were? What size snaps did you use and did you have any problems punching through and snapping?

What did you attach the snaps to? I'm looking at the little rectangular pieces that the snaps are punched through, and I assume those are then adhered to the fiberglass. I don't want to drill into the fiberglass to punch snaps, so your method looks like my plan. I thought about some nylon/polypropylene webbing, but I don't know if that'll be too thick for 5/8" snaps.

Sanded down the putty to 220. Taped the openings from the outside. Looks weird lol. Here's the interior before primer. And after. I think I'll give it until tomorrow before I sand the inside to 400. And then I'll (hopefully) brush paint some black acrylic in there!

So I was planning on taping the interior today to prep for my acrylic paint to arrive, but my buddy recommended sanding and priming the fiberglass resin to ensure adhesion. I guess THAT'S what I'll do today.

Sanded the putty to 220. I saw a few more spots so I'll fill those in later today. Pulled the tape off, since I'll have to tape the outside for interior painting. Wanting to make some progress today, I decided to work on the lens. Outlined what I wanted to clamped a Dremel with cutoff wheel to a worktable to act as a tablesaw. Worked great! Taped it in to get an idea and it looks great! Tried it on to make sure I cut enough out of the bridge for my nose and it's perfect! With back light. Added some more putty. I'll sand it to 220 tomorrow and tape off the holes to prep for interior painting on Tuesday (hopefully). Then I'll tape the inside again and prime for the last time...

Looking good! Thanks for the great pics of your strapping!! So many people go from pieces to finished and don't show how they put it together. I'll be referencing your build when I'm figuring out my straps!

Wet sanded to 400. I like that I can distinguish between the two coats of primer since I used different colors (thanks @TheRascalKing). Filled spots with putty, more liberally than yesterday since I now have one day of experience under my belt haha. Tomorrow I'll sand the putty with 220. Then I'll probably have to wait until Tuesday for my black paint to show up. I think it'll be best to paint the inside before applying my last coat of primer to the exterior, in case some black runs out.

Primer coat #2 applied! In a couple of hours I'll wet sand to 400 and look for imperfections to fill.

So I sanded the putty with 400 and it just didn't seem to do enough. I could still feel raised spots. So I sanded to 220 and it went great! Took down the putty and left the holes filled in. Washed it off, but now I need to wait for it to dry before applying primer coat #2...

Wet sanded to 400 and rinsed it off. Once it was dry, I applied some Bondo glazing putty to the few pinholes in Jim's well-made bucket! I'm no surgeon with the putty, but I think it'll work out... Now I'm waiting the 30 minutes for it to cure, then I'll sand those spots, rinse it off again, and apply primer coat #2 once it's dry!

Are there special permissions? We can't access it.

Black acrylic won't be here until Tuesday!? I guess I can start with priming and sanding... Paint booth is set up! 1st coat of filler primer is applied! I was going to wet sand to 400 now, but I ran out of free time. There's always tomorrow!

I was going to spray my vocoder with Plasti Dip...

I know the CRL says black outline around the ear bars, but I think most buckets I've seen aren't outlined. Is this part of the CRL accurate?

I may have another option now lol! I'm thinking I could cut strips off a running shirt...the one below is pretty close to the recommended Humbrol 14 French Blue, and it's performance material and should breathe really well. Plus, I'd have extra that I can send out to others! How does that sound/look?

Went over all the cutouts for the last time to get them as crisp as possible! Threw together some scraps for a helmet stand for when I start spray painting! Next: wait for my black acrylic paint to come in for the interior.

Touched up the tears and they look much better! Filed out the frown too and it went really well! I'm really happy with the file set I bought! I'll probably scrutinize all of it tomorrow for any final filing before I try brush painting the inside black.

Thanks Jeff!!

No worries, thanks for the update! Just looking into strapping ideas...

So I got some more work done on the tears. After sanding it for quite a while, I'm able to fit one of my files to really get at it! Will hopefully finish up the tears tomorrow. Next: tape off the openings and brush paint the inside black, unless anyone recommends against the paint I posted above.

Jeff, did you get around to assembling a strapping kit for sale?

Question: what do you guys think about brushing this paint around the inside of the bucket? The resin I lined the inside with is amber-colored and I think it'd look much nicer black. Would I need to prime first? I've decided against spraying Plasti Dip (due to planned use of 3M adhesives). I didn't buy any black spray paint, but can order some if that's recommended. I also thought it'd be easier to brush instead of spray, due to working inside the helmet.