quick but important question

I have a fiberglass helmet, I need to repaint but was wondering if I absolutely HAVE to sand it down first or if I could just paint over it. Also how to I do the black misting?
 
The problem with "just painting over it" is that you will have a lot of paint build-up and lose some of the sharpness of your helmet's edges and details. Also, if there's a finishing coat on it, that might affect how the paint sticks to it.
 
Run your fingers carefully over the surface of the helmet. Can you feel any bumps or ridges where the edges of the different colors are? If you can feel anything, it will show, even if you use primer over the whole helmet.
It would probably be better to at least give it a light sanding. If you use a fine grit sandpaper, like 400 or higher, it'll smooth out those transitions between colors. I don't see any reason why you'd have to sand down to the bare surface.

For misting, you'll basically take a spray can (or an airbrush) and hold it pretty far away from the helmet. Depending on the conditions, the distance will vary a little. You're basically letting a "fog" of paint settle onto the surface. If you don't have a lot of experience with spray painting or airbrushing, practice on something first. A piece of white plastic and some black spray paint will give you a good idea how the effect varies with distance and duration of spray.
 
sanding down the helmet will also remove any lacquer (spelling) and enable the new paint job to grab on to the helmet better.
 
There are different types of matte sprays. Just about every paint company makes their own version.
My favorite by far is Testors dull coat. Another good one is Krylon matte finish. Both of those come in spray cans. It's been a really long time since I've used any but those two, so can't really say how they would compare.
 
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