Dvh helmet review and esb paint up

vaders right hand

Well-Known Hunter

• Jan 23, 2016

• #1

I received my dvh helmet today ((thanks to raizo)) and went to work on it . Over all it's a well built thick fiberglass helmet . Almost to thick in some spot especially around the visor area the gel coat is so thick by the time you get down to the original helmet thickness it's all gel oat around the visor , and the fiberglass has peeled away from the helmet a bit . But that's nothing a little superglue can't fix . That being said , it's a quality helmet and well worth the price . I am planning a mostly layered paint job ((pics to follow ))

 

vaders right hand

Well-Known Hunter

• Jan 23, 2016

• #2

 

ryan101011

Jr Hunter

• Jan 23, 2016

• #3

looking good so far, did it come to you in chrome?

 

Darth Voorhees

Well-Known Hunter

Preferred Vendor

• Jan 23, 2016

• #4

vaders right hand said:

I received my dvh helmet today ((thanks to raizo)) and went to work on it . Over all it's a well built thick fiberglass helmet . Almost to thick in some spot especially around the visor area the gel coat is so thick by the time you get down to the original helmet thickness it's all gel oat around the visor , and the fiberglass has peeled away from the helmet a bit . But that's nothing a little superglue can't fix . That being said , it's a quality helmet and well worth the price . I am planning a mostly layered paint job ((pics to follow ))

Click to expand...

Lookin good so far!

I just wanted to say, that this particular helmet is an older cast direct out of the mold off the MR that i was going to use for my personal ROTJ build. It was sitting for quite while and when Razio said he was interested in a ROTJ, i decided i could just let it go. My more recent casts are not that thick with gelcoat. That particular helmet is basically a resin cast reinforced with fiberglass.

At any rate..im glad to see something getting done with it!

 

vaders right hand

Well-Known Hunter

• Jan 24, 2016

• #5

no ryan . its paint .that good info dvh . its still a very nice helmet .

 

Darth Voorhees

Well-Known Hunter

Preferred Vendor

• Jan 24, 2016

• #6

Oh and the MR esb physical damage is still on the mandibles/cheek, so you may wanna fill those before you paint them.

 

vaders right hand

Well-Known Hunter

• Jan 24, 2016

• #7

the more I handle it the more the fiberglass peels away form the gelcoat , its only doing it in the visor area at this time , it will probably be ok after visor is installed .

 

vaders right hand

Well-Known Hunter

• Jan 24, 2016

• #8

so I picked up some of this stuff , it mixes in the spiral tube so you cant screw it up , ill have to epoxy the visor in as well that should make it good as new , ill have to use the shade 5 green safety visor , the one that is more flexibal , the t-visor.com one leaves to much space between the visor and the lower part of the upper mandibles
UPDATE .... that has done the trick , with the tiny tip I was able to get inbetween the material and its solid now , I'm going to use the same stuff to attach the visor , and I'm looking for a putty to use as well , something that comes in a roll and ou mush it together

 

Last edited by a moderator: Jan 24, 2016

Darth Voorhees

Well-Known Hunter

Preferred Vendor

• Jan 25, 2016

• #9

I've had that happen before, Its called "delaminating" and i pretty much did the same thing. I used zap-a-gap and that seemed to work. But you are correct, once the Visor is in, it 'll be fine.

Its rotocast resin and i found the fiberglass doesn't stick to it as well as a normal gel coat, or a harder resin gelcoat. Rotocast resin is "semi-rigid" (65D) so it can bend more so than the fiberglass and that's what likely causes that. Aslo its not a true gelcoat so its not brittle and would hold up fine without the glass on it in that area

 

Last edited by a moderator: Jan 25, 2016

vaders right hand

Well-Known Hunter

• Jan 26, 2016

• #10

so I epoxied the visor in place , and a fiberglass base support , and I will do a little more fiberglass aroud the inside corners , and across the top , then I will sand out and install the board in the back

 

vaders right hand

Well-Known Hunter

• Jan 27, 2016

• #11

a little more progress ,bondo in between the mandibles,the visor ,and filling and fixing various . the visor still has the protective cover inside and out .

 

vaders right hand

Well-Known Hunter

• Jan 29, 2016

• #12

ive got the day off so I am working on the helmet , ive noticed that the ears are to short , don't know if ive got the wrong ears or if they shrunk that much , bu ill have to cut them in half and make them longer . , installed the board with some hot glue , covered in fiberglass

- - - Updated - - -

a couple more

 

vaders right hand

Well-Known Hunter

• Jan 29, 2016

• #13

I don't know why the pics are all sideways

 

Last edited by a moderator: Jan 29, 2016

vaders right hand

Well-Known Hunter

• Feb 3, 2016

• #14

for sale in the cargo hold

 

Darth Voorhees

Well-Known Hunter

Preferred Vendor

• Feb 3, 2016

• #15

I know you put this up for sale, but for anyone interested in buying it, trimming the bottom of the helmet a touch will work better than trying to extend the ears. I dont know why they would be short. they all came from the same MR helmet. The RF side just needs to be lined up with the bottom of the helmet..the "platform" is slightly taller than it needs to be due to cleaning up that area from the MR. the helmet may also not be trimmed down all the way. I had rough trimmed it, and i dont think Razio did anything further in that respect. But there is no reason to do all that work to extend the ear, especially on the RF side. Is the other side the same way? Ive never noticed this issue before.

EDIT: i can actually see that the RF side isnt trimmed all the way on the bottom. the bottom needs to be trimmed a little more and the ear should be moved slightly down. Fixed.

here is a DVH kit built setting the ear like i just mentioned.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Feb 3, 2016

Darth Voorhees

Well-Known Hunter

Preferred Vendor

• Feb 4, 2016

• #16

Just a FYI..i checked my ESB helmets and this issue isnt present, so it must be something with this particular cast. Odd.