Helmet painting

[EODSarge]

A buddy of mine and I run a side-business duracoating guns. While doing up my FN-FAL in a Vietnam tigerstripe pattern, I started wondering what else I could paint... sort of like having a hammer, you start looking for nails to pound in whether they need them or not. I called the company that makes DuraCoat to make sure it was safe for the plastics found in helmets, then grabbed my spare Fulmer modular and started spraying:

This is after two coats of UV resistant clear coat, but before polishing.

Then I couldn't stop. Nolan N-102 with Bengal Tiger:

Then I ran out of helmets. Wait, my roommate leaves his laying around...

 

[JamesK]

Pretty cool, do you have any pricing in mind for custom paint jobs?

 

[Sagebrush]

I like the tiger pattern. Have pics of the polished versions???

 

[EODSarge]

Haven't polished the Fulmer yet... still mulling over the best option. DuraCoat is a two-part resin plus hardener that was designed for firearms; it's also a slow cure resin... it's usable within 24 hours, but doesn't achieve its full hardness for 4 weeks. It's also a thin coat, which means you can slightly feel the edges of multiple layers (like in a camo pattern). I'm not sure how glossy I can get it with polishing, as the finishes lean towards the flat or matte side (which only makes sense, given that they were meant for guns). But if you want ultra-flat, man, their tactical flat colors are veeerrry flat finishes!

However, I suppose I could do the same patterns with a different paint that would give me the gloss I want. With DuraCoat, the price for time and materials would be in the... lessee... probably $150-200 range, depending on the number of colors in the pattern and its complexity. That might be more than someone wants to spend on a helmet that probably didn't cost much more than that. All that surface area sucks up a lot of duracoat. With a different paint, it would be a lot cheaper. I'll have to research other paints for helmets. I'd think acrylics should be safe for the shell.

Hard Rock Candy Firearms Coatings is the website for our gun coating business. I saw an American Flag pattern elsewhere on the web that I want to try and duplicate on a gun.

 

[johnny80s]

Haven't polished the Fulmer yet... still mulling over the best option. DuraCoat is a two-part resin plus hardener that was designed for firearms; it's also a slow cure resin... it's usable within 24 hours, but doesn't achieve its full hardness for 4 weeks. It's also a thin coat, which means you can slightly feel the edges of multiple layers (like in a camo pattern). I'm not sure how glossy I can get it with polishing, as the finishes lean towards the flat or matte side (which only makes sense, given that they were meant for guns). But if you want ultra-flat, man, their tactical flat colors are veeerrry flat finishes!
However, I suppose I could do the same patterns with a different paint that would give me the gloss I want. With DuraCoat, the price for time and materials would be in the... lessee... probably $150-200 range, depending on the number of colors in the pattern and its complexity. That might be more than someone wants to spend on a helmet that probably didn't cost much more than that. All that surface area sucks up a lot of duracoat. With a different paint, it would be a lot cheaper. I'll have to research other paints for helmets. I'd think acrylics should be safe for the shell.

Hard Rock Candy Firearms Coatings is the website for our gun coating business. I saw an American Flag pattern elsewhere on the web that I want to try and duplicate on a gun.

What do you charge to do a tigerstripe vietnam era coating on an FAL?

 

[EODSarge]

At the risk of turning this into advertising...

$255 for a semi-auto rifle and that 4-color scheme. I expect I could work out some forum discounts, though. Check the website for a list of colors, camo schemes, and prices.

My FAL stripped for painting (normally, you don't need to do this much prep work to a gun; but I'd tried everything from GunKote to Krylon on this FAL looking for a durable coating, so there was a lot to strip off):

After, with a matte clearcoat:

Now, this one was a special request... not my cup of tea as far as color goes for a camo job, but that's what he wanted so that's what we gave him:

 

[johnny80s]

Thanks that looks great.

 

[eeksnake]

Now, this one was a special request... not my cup of tea as far as color goes for a camo job, but that's what he wanted so that's what we gave him:

Me thinks he won't get too many smartass remarks about it. At least, not while it's loaded and in the low ready.

 

[kaitsdad]

Regarding the helmet jobs - obviously a lot of time was spent by you doing that, and the results show it.

Have you considered what Harry Hurt would say about having a camo helmet ?

 

[k7lvo]

Regarding the helmet jobs - obviously a lot of time was spent by you doing that, and the results show it.
Have you considered what Harry Hurt would say about having a camo helmet ?

Should be okay if it's not an urban camo pattern... :lol:

 

[johnny80s]

Painting a helmet does void most warranties. Just an FYI.

 

[sportsguy]

Someone call Ted Nugent. His daughter's gun is on the loose!

 

[Pierre]

I guess my warranty is expired

 

[Bounce]

Me 2!

 

[EODSarge]

Regarding the helmet jobs - obviously a lot of time was spent by you doing that, and the results show it.
Have you considered what Harry Hurt would say about having a camo helmet ?

Heh heh... as long as I stay out of the jungle, I guess.

Maybe I'll do an asphalt one with a double yellow stripe down the center...

The bengal tiger one has the white break fade rise up at the back of the helmet. My roomie suggested that this must be the tiger's ass, and I should airbrush an asshole right there.

Hmm......

 

[k7lvo]

Me 2!

Okay, so where's a picture of the BIKE?!?!? :yahoo:

(you do have it back together by now, don't you?) :lol: