Author Topic: Don't Throw Your Old Helmet Away Part 2  (Read 4397 times)

smallengineshop

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Don't Throw Your Old Helmet Away Part 2
« on: December 18, 2022, 08:26:33 PM »
Another old, used helmet brought back to life with some rattle can paint from Walmart. This is an old Fulmer full face helmet. The original color was flat black with white lettering on the side and back denoting the helmet model and DOT certification. It also had a outer coating that gave it a soft texture. I don't know what the coating is called, but I've seen in used on plastic cases for electronic equipment, and the stuff degrades over time making it sticky. I hate the coating stuff! It feels good when it's new and I'm sure it helps sale the item, but it's a complete hassle to deal when it gets old. I will never buy anything with that type of coating again. I've had to deal with it on this helmet and an old Radio Shack radio, and it's not fun.

This helmet had a discontinued broken face shield, and it took me forever to find a replacement. I ended up paying $150 for a brand new assortment of older Fulmer helmet shields and accessories from a multi-line motorcycle dealership that included a clear and smoked QR1 face shield that fits this helmet.

The reason I chose the same colors as the other helmet I posted about on this forum is a long story. It wasn't my original choice to use the same colors.

I pretty much was able to paint this helmet using 400, 600 and 2000 grit sand paper, two different rolls of painters tape, 1 can of Rustoleum primer, 1 can of Rustoleum black paint and 1 can of Rustoleum clear coat. I did purchase an expensive Griot's Garage mini 3 inch random orbital polisher, which saved a huge amount of time on paint correction and polishing.

The helmet is full of small mistakes if you look closely, but every time you do this you get a little better. I'm happy with the way it turned out.

I definitely went way over my budget on this one, but I plan to do it again with new designs and colors, so it should be worth it in the end. The polisher is the perfect size for detailing motorcycles, so I don't consider it a cost included with this helmet. With some spray paint, tape, sand paper and manual labor you can pretty much add new life to any old helmet.


« Last Edit: December 20, 2022, 06:01:43 PM by adminjoe »
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