Personalized things are super cool since it exhibits the things you want for your own. And when it’s about a motorcycle helmet, it will be cooler to wear a helmet of rare design while riding. But that’s something hard to find, even after searching in many shops and web pages.
You may want your helmet to have the symbols of your favorite sports team or from a popular show. To find that helmet may not be impossible, but it costs a fortune. So, why not painting on your own since you will get your dream helmet at a lower price, just by putting some time and effort! Let us show you how to do it.
Can You Paint A Motorcycle Helmet?
Surely you’ve seen bikers leaving no space on their helmet surfaces putting on stickers. If that’s in vogue why not paint it? And the exhaustion of scrolling down sites after sites just to hit on the design you want has taunted every modern-day rider. Painting is the deal-breaker here and yes, you can, and we’re offering a hand.
Why Paint Your Motorcycle Helmet?
The most common reasons why anyone wanna paint a helmet aren’t much. But they are enough to make you get the materials and tools and start painting right away.
Refurbishing Old Helmet
With time, the color and design of the helmets fade away. That’s where some people want to repaint them instead of throwing them away and spending more bucks for a new one.
Resemblance
It’s so hard to find helmets that match with your motorcycle design or anything you stand for. That’s why it’s easier just to paint them any way that you want to.
Better Appearance
There’s a lot of plain-looking helmets and not every helmet design will satisfy your taste. For this reason, many want to paint their motorcycle helmet.
What Kind of Paint to Use on Motorcycle Helmet?
Not every kind of paint is safe to use on your helmet. Some paints and solvents can damage the material and make the helmet weaker and unable to protect your head, such as Plastidip type sprays.
Since not all paints are synthesized to be used on the helmet, you should be knowing a bit about their inherent chemical properties. There are mainly 3 types of paintings that people use on their helmets.
Plastidip
It is a rubber-based coating paint and comes in a spray can. As it’s aerosol, you can evenly paint all the parts with it. But it has some chemicals that may corrode your helmet.
Vinyl Wrapping
As the name implies, it’s kind of wrapping. You take the color vinyl sticker and put it on the surface. But it’s not all that easy like spraying. As the helmet surface isn’t plain, so you need much patience and experience to color properly.
Water-based Acrylic Paint
Acrylic Paint is used by mixing with water, but paint becomes water-resistant when after drying. You just need to paint it like a normal painting, using brushes. this painting is not harmful at all.
How to Paint a Motorcycle Helmet?
There are a few steps to paint a motorcycle helmet properly. Try not to skip any of them.
Tools & Materials
You must have some tools before you start painting. They are:
- Paint
- Spray Gun/ Airbrush
- Masking Tape
- Grease and Wax Remover
- Clear Coat
- Polisher
- Gloves
Disassembling
You’re not gonna paint on the visor, screws or straps. So, make sure you disassemble those parts cautiously.
Clearing the Helmet
If you want the paint to stick to the helmet properly, you need to remove all the grease, dirt, and stickers at first. You can use grease and wax remover or use dish detergents to clean the surface properly. But avoid sanding, as it will just ruin the surface. A plain-looking helmet helps avoid sanding and better painting results.
Masking
You probably won’t paint the whole helmet at the same time with the same color. That’s why masking the parts you don’t wanna get paints is needed. It helps a lot when you’re using multiple colors.
Applying Paint
Whether you use spray paints or acrylic paints, make sure that one layer of paint dries off before applying another layer. Shake your spray can well before you start painting. First, apply the base color, and then design the way you want.
Applying Clear Coat
You need to apply clear coats on the painting as it protects the paint underneath. Shake the coat can well and apply on the helmet and let it dry and repeat this process for 3 to 4 times for even coating.
Unmasking & Reassembling
Next, remove the masking tape gently, so that it won’t peel off the paint or coat. And then reassemble all the parts you removed before. Now you have the beautiful helmet of your design.
FAQs
Q: Can I use a water repellent on my motorcycle helmet?
Ans: It depends on the type of water repellent you are going to use. If it is made for plastic, then it’s safe on your helmet. If not, then it can even deteriorate helmet material along with the painting.
Conclusion
Don’t lose patience when you’re painting helmets for the first few times. When you are gonna follow the steps properly, the result will amaze you for sure. And to gain more confidence, you can test paint on other surfaces before you do it on the surface of the helmet.
Also read – How to Strap a Motorcycle Helmet
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