Painting a helmet

[guero_gordo]

This has come up as a question a few times, just thought I'd share a quick success story. I had a great experience repainting DD's batting helmet with Rustoleum 2X paint and primer:
Painter

I went matte black over the original gloss gold, so not the toughest combination in the world, but was just a piece of cake. I've done just fine with OSH brand paint and some patience. but no way does it cover like this, if you're lazy or in a hurry, just get the Rustoleum.

Following the directions, I roughed up the glossy surface with light sanding. When I laid the first coat on, every inconsistency in my sanding showed, but on the second coat it all evened out. I did use a block to try and make the scuffing more uniform, but I certainly could have spent more time and care getting it even. Might try steel wool next time instead.

End of story. I'm no craftsman, anyone can do this. Just make sure it's warm enough and well ventilated where you work.

 

[CoreSoftball20]

Unless you like the fumes..then do it in a non-ventilated area

Did you leave any of the original gold showing thru or did you go complete matte?

 

[guero_gordo]

Did you leave any of the original gold showing thru or did you go complete matte?

Requirement was for all black, though if I could have found my kid's stencils, I would have masked her number out at the back.
It's a Schutt with grooves around the vents, so pretty easy to Frog tape off some areas for two-tone.

 

[CoreSoftball20]

Requirement was for all black, though if I could have found my kid's stencils, I would have masked her number out at the back.
It's a Schutt with grooves around the vents, so pretty easy to Frog tape off some areas for two-tone.

I gotcha...had to be all black. Heck of a lot cheaper than buying another helpmet

 

[SoCal_Dad]

Be careful you don't cover up the NOCSAE stamp or it may fail pregame helmet inspection. It happened to a whole team around here last year.

 

[CoreSoftball20]

I have a Cascade Pro Helmet I wear to pitch slowpitch and I did a little airbrush work to it since I got bored with the regular look. Its had a whole season of use on it, but still looks decent.

I know this isn't the exact topic, but figured I would share since we are talking about helmet painting and its slow in here...haha

 

[JAD]

Matte black is the best color/finish for a "do it yourself" paint job! And the best part is, if the helmet gets scuffed up, just give it another coat!!!

 

[Eric F]

Following CS20's lead, this is my DD's batting helmet...

We are still trying to figure out what to do with her catcher's mask.

We have a local airbrush artist who makes the rounds with the LL and FP leagues doing custom jobs like this.

 

[CoreSoftball20]

Little style...I like it. Always fun to make something a bit more your own.

 

[Eric F]

Little style...I like it. Always fun to make something a bit more your own.

During All-Stars last year, we saw plenty of teams with brand-new matching helmets, matching bags, etc. It was fun watching our team with colorful, custom-painted, mis-matched helmets come in and kick their matching @$$es.

My DD and I settled on a design concept for her catcher's mask last night - a variation on the "rainbow flames and skulls" theme of her batting helmet. It's being sent off today to the airbrush artist. Because of the abuse a catcher's mask typically gets, he does it in his shop with an automotive clear-coat finish to protect the design. I'll post pics when we get it back.