If it's all about promoting AZ Excel then option 1 is the winner. If it just for style go with option 3. Option 2 is the way out there choice that doesn't seem to match the theme.
You should "Wrap" the helmet in a 3m type of material. Professionally painting the helmet can weaken the exterior shell and can cause softness . Despite what type of paint YOU decide to use, its never better than the manufactures paint jobs. If your looking to get a semi custom paint job on a helmet, check out Schutts website. They have a lot of cool setups.
I am a custom painter. I have been painting helmets for 20+ years. WARRIORMIKE you are correct that "some" helmet shells can soften if not painted correctly. Thanks for the concern.
Not sure how much it costs to do a custom paint job on a helmet, but my $0.02 would be not to tie it to a specific team in case your DD ever changes teams, unless she would buy a new helmet if she ever changed teams. When my DD joined a marquee team last year we bought a bunch of spirit wear so we would "blend in". After my DD verballed (marquee team had ZERO to do with it), DD decided to go back to a regular A-level team so she would have the opportunity to do more than "pitch and sit", so I just gave away @ $300 worth of spirit wear to a friend who's DD is on another team in the organization.
I also agree with the thought of not overdoing it on the team name on stuff like a catcher's helmet, as a helmet and paint job are a little expensive to be
doing every time you change teams.
And as long as you know what you're doing, painting a helmet is perfectly fine and wont hurt the helmet one bit.
Here's my DD's catcher's helmet from her rec ball days...
DD's "rainbow flames and skulls" theme was airbrushed by a local artist who makes his rounds with the rec leagues in the area. I sent him the stripped-down shell, and he did the work at his shop. It was finished with an automotive clearcoat to keep the artwork from getting scraped off. DD is now wearing a matte red Wilson helmet to match her TB team's gear, and the skull helmet hangs on her bedroom wall.
Being the fact it's my team and I do paintwork it works out for my DD. If I had to pay to have a helmet painted I would probably pass on the idea. I do my team batting helmets (if the player wants) and my own stuff. I'm what you call "a retired painter or is that a RETARTED painter
JAD: To do a really nice helmet with name and lots of art plus clear coat would be around $300 - $400. In the motorcycle world custom painted helmets can be upwards of $2K with chrome and candies, pearl, etc!