That's a good question, and the answer is . . . it depends.
Not a great answer, eh? But seriously, it does depend on a few factors. First of all it does depend on which
part of the helmet you're talking about. Something like the dent is going to take longer than the smaller spot
above the turn signals on the front of the dome.
Secondly, it depends on what technique you're using. For accuracy's sake a lot of us use templates or stencils
to get the sizes and positions of the damage areas as close as we can. But each small area (generally) has
multiple colors involved. Take that left half of the brow for example. There's the gray, the silver, the maroon/purple,
and some small flecks of the base red. Are you going to make and apply stencils for each individual color, or are
you going to make a stencil that includes all of the color breaks, or are you going to simply make a single stencil
for the most predominant color and then gauge the other colors by eye?
Lastly, it depends on your experience level. Have you tackled this particular paint style before, or is this your first
attempt at the ESB? Please keep in mind that "this ain't my first rodeo"
and I have a very concrete plan of attack
when I do one of these helmets. If it's someone attempting it for the first time, or if I were to attempt a different style
that I hadn't done before, it would take considerably longer.
In regard to your question though, I don't really keep myself on a clock when I'm working, but I'd say that the left half
of the brow (not including the separate area at the corner of the visor) took me probably a little over an hour. Definitely
less than two hours. That's from the first application of the stencils to the time the final flecks of color were applied.
When you (or anyone) are working on a project like this, it's important to work at a pace that makes you comfortable.
It can seem overwhelming at first, but when you take a small section at a time it makes it easier. Don't hold yourself
to any deadlines. I've been approached about doing commissions on a short timeline, like someone asking me on
October 1st if I can do a helmet for them by Halloween, and I always tell people I can't commit to anything like that.
There's too much that can happen in real life, and I don't like to rush or feel like I'm being rushed to finish a project
for someone.