TE2 Helmet Painting Problems

[foggy[TK]]

I finally found time to prime my TE2 helmet. Priming went well. I figured it was time to paint.

 

I am using Rustoleum, a brand new can. I sprayed the first coat of white paint on it and ... my helmet is now furry looking. It looks like styrofoam attacked it (or an Ewok) and feels like sandpaper.

 

I am not real knowledgeable about paint. I noticed the paint was not coming out of the can evenly. I had shaken it for at least one minute before use. Also some black specks was spraying out of the nozzle.

 

I know I need to sand it down. Any advice on the type/grit of sandpaper to use and how to prevent this from happening again will be greatly appreciated.

[HPDblues[TK]]

You seek TK-4510!

 

Give Mike a PM...Master he is, yes.

 

T

[Smitty]

Can you go into a little more detail about the black specks and also pics are worth a thousand words. So far it sounds like you may have held the can too close to your helmet when painting. Also You need to let the paint thats on the helmet cure fully before you start sanding it again. I would wait at least one week before attempting to sand. If the paint is still wet under the dry coat when you sand it, getting a nice smooth finish will be difficult afterwards.

[ThayNerd[TK]]

Shelley, I'm thinking the same thing Smitty is. It sounds like you might have held the can too close. I would wait the full week before sanding or you might run into more trouble. Post some pics of it we'll help you get it worked out.

[foggy[TK]]

Thanks for the advice about pm to Mike. I will do that when I get home.

 

I will also take pictures of the helmet tonight and post.

[foggy[TK]]

I could not get a good picture of the problem.

 

Just imagine a little of little beads attached to the helmet. Quite distressing.

[SuperTrooper]

Is it little beads, or fuzzy like?

[foggy[TK]]

Being the far from great painter that I am, I noticed tonight that it is both.

[SuperTrooper]

Fuzzy usually happens when you either hold the can too far away or paint in extremely dry conditions. What causes it is the paint starts to dry in the air before it hits the paint surface.

 

The little beads could be a couple things. Most new painters spray to heavy, but if your in the 1% that sprays to light you can get little beads where you are not getting enough paint on the surface. Their are a few others, but you wouldn't get a fuzz effect with them.

 

The good news is you can wetsand with 400 grit auto sandpaper and try again.

[ForlornHope[501st]]

I finally found time to prime my TE2 helmet. Priming went well. I figured it was time to paint.

 

I am using Rustoleum, a brand new can. I sprayed the first coat of white paint on it and ... my helmet is now furry looking. It looks like styrofoam attacked it (or an Ewok) and feels like sandpaper.

 

I am not real knowledgeable about paint. I noticed the paint was not coming out of the can evenly. I had shaken it for at least one minute before use. Also some black specks was spraying out of the nozzle.

 

I know I need to sand it down. Any advice on the type/grit of sandpaper to use and how to prevent this from happening again will be greatly appreciated.

 

Ive painted several costumes in the past including TI, TB, and of course TK so ive run into pretty much every paint problem there is and know how to fix it.

 

This effect can be attributed to several problems so ill try to go over them and give you some painting pointers

 

Your getting the fuzzy effect because your coat is either too thin or its drying too quickly on the surface. When paint come out of a spray nozzle it comes out in little particles and when they hit the surface they stick and combine to make a solid coat kind of like spraying water ona a table if you spray too lightly youll just have a ton of little droplets but if you spray just enough youll havea nice solid puddle. That fuzzy or rough effect is all little paint particles dried to the surface.

 

How can you fix this?

 

Also i might add if drops are coming out of the nozzle then its defective or not clean. IF its a totally new can i would return it for a new one it shouldnt be doing that. When your done spraying turn the can upside down and spray till paint stops coming out which cleans out the nozzle and prevents that from happening the next time you paint.

 

- first make sure you have a nice smooth sanded primer surface for a smooth finish but the scratched surface from sanding gives the paint something to stick to to prevent runnign or sticking

 

- Make sure the surface your going to paint is totally clean i recommend wiping it with soap and warm water and drying it with a lint free towel.

 

- make sure you spray in the right climate. Dont spray when its really hot or humid it can cause the paint to dry as soon as it hits the surface making a fuzzy effect.

 

- When you spray make sure you areat least 8" away from the surface and level with it. You dont want to be too close because it wil lcoat too heavy and run and you dont want to be too far away because it will coat too light and again give you that fuzzy effect.

 

- When you start spraying spray a thin quick "tacky" coat first over the piece. This coat will look rough which is fine it is meant to help the main coat stick and not run or drip. Immediatly after finishing the tacky coat and while the tacky coat is still wet, spray the main coat. With the main coat you want to spray until you get a solid wet looking surface but try not to spray in one area too long just enough to get that solid wet look or else it will drip.A good method is to spray in slow stroking motions back and forth working your way across the piece till it has one solid wet coat.

 

- Once you have that solid wet coat take the piece somewhere safe to dry and make sure not to shake it or hit anything and ruin your paint job. Once its dry its should look solid and smooth if you followed the steps correctly. Let it sit for a day to cure and if you can a whole week is better.

 

Hope that helps

[TK-4510[501st]]

Hey Shelley,

 

Smitty is right...wait at least a week....then.....

 

What I suggest you do is wet sand the helmet down with 800 grit wet or dry sand paper. Then once you have smoothed all the fuzzies off and the helmet is nice and smooth I would take a lint free cloth that is totally new and clean and soak it with rubbing alcohol. Put on some latex gloves or wash your hands thoroughly. Then wipe the helmet down really well and get all traces of any finger oil or dust cleaned off. Let the helmet dry for an hour or so till its completely dry. Get a tack cloth from Walmart auto parts paint area or a paint supply store. Use the cloth "lightly" on the helmet. This will get all traces of dust off the helmet.

 

Spray the helmet with rustoleum primer and once its completely dry, wet sand again with 2000 grit. Put on some latex gloves or wash your hands thoroughly. Then wipe the helmet down really well and get all traces of any finger oil or dust cleaned off. Let the helmet dry for an hour or so till its completely dry. Get a tack cloth from Walmart auto parts paint area or a paint supply store. Use the cloth "lightly" on the helmet. This will get all traces of dust off the helmet.

 

The Rustoleum paint is a pain in the butt to use. If it wasn't for the extreme shine that can be achieved I wouldn't even use it. If you do use the Rustoleum paint then I would shake the can before use for at least a minute straight. The humidity cannot be above 60 percent and the heat no more than 70 degree's. The first coat I lay down thin and just try to cover the entire helmet with a nice even "thin" coat, holding the can about 6-8 inches away. Then I wait 5 minutes..... Shake the can again for about 30 seconds and spray a nice even coat about 6-8 inches away from the helmet. Make even overlapping strokes top to bottom and left to right as needed. Be very careful not to lay too much paint down or the gas from the can will get caught under the paint and cause air bubbles. Or you may cause a run... Once you have a nice even coat, wait 5 more minutes. The last coat do exactly like the 2nd coat.

 

There is a VERY fine line between a nice even medium coat and a run. Too little paint and it will get the fuzzies (also known as overspray mist), too much and you get runs, traps, crackles, etc... Experiment on another surface and see how far you can go without runs and a nice glossy coat to too far and crapville USA.

 

I usually paint my helmets outside using about a 5 foot pole I have driven in the ground. After the helmet has been painted I take another long pole and pick up the helmet from underneath and transport it to the garage. I have a dust free place in the garage that nobody gets near and a hole to stick the pole into. The helmet will sit in that spot for at least 3 days. The paint needs that long to cure because of the 3 coats of thick paint.

 

They never turn out perfect. Some have runs. Some have misted areas. Sometimes the paint crackles due to too much being laid down at once. I have developed a pretty good feel for how far I can take the Rustoleum. If its bad enough you can always lightly wet sand the effected area with 2000 grit wet or dry and buff it out with Novus and then car wax.

 

If you want something more forgiving and less glossy any decent white paint will do pretty good too. If you want perfection then you will need to get a motorcycle shop or auto paint store to shoot it. I have looked into the automotive grade paints and have contemplated using them because they cure faster and usually require a clear coating over the base coat that will leave the helmet glossy.

 

OH yeah. I never use the same can more than once even if there is paint left over. The nozzles always mess up the "next" helmet. Between coats I turn the can upside down and spray off the excess paint to clear the nozzle (away from anything important). I do it for about 5 seconds...

 

I hope I didnt ramble on too long. I hope this has helped you some. If I can be of any more assistance let me know. Good Luck!!

 

Mike

[ForlornHope[501st]]

ya what mike said too, its kind of something that takes practice and patience....alot of patience.

 

I use a pvc pipe myself driven into the ground for helmet works really great .

 

also watch out for stupid bugs that liek to fly into your new paint job which is why as soon as im done i run the thing into my garage to protect it from natures morons.

[Smitty]

Aint that the truth. Flying bugs are madly in love with wet TK helmets.

[foggy[TK]]

You guys are fantastic! Thank you all for the advice.

 

I have printed the advice and will incorporate it all into my next efforts. I paint in the backyard after 6:30 pm. The helmet sits on a paper towel holder which in turn sits on a table. Helmet and paper towel holder go into the garage an hour or so after painting.

 

I am now thinking about putting the TE2 on hold after sanding it. I am also working on a MRCE helmet and will use that one as the painting lesson. It's finally ready to be primed. The TE2 is destined for TD.

 

Again, thank you.