BKBT Cold Cast Helmet Project

Now that I think about it, I've never really been a big fan of the "pinstripes" because they just seem out of place.
Now "kill stripes" on the other hand make more sense!

I ordered some black 3/32" pinstriping tape from our local auto paint store. Should be in on Friday.

I also took some fine steel wool to the blue painted areas. It did a great job of getting rid of all the little dust specks. Then I polished everything back out with some medium rubbing compound. I think it looks much better than the original high gloss.

For all of my previous helmets where I Rn'B'd, I usually gave the entire bucket a coat of Rustoleum Royal Blue to make the entire helmet surface nice and smooth. Then on top of that I would tape off and paint the Krylon Ocean Blue, and Rn'B last. I would use 1/8" plastic auto striping tape for the check/mandible areas because I think it produces a nicer and sharper paint line, then I would apply the easy release 3M blue tape to that. I would also tape off the silver cheek areas before lightly sanding and Rn'B them...that way the Rn'B stayed where it was supposed to. So basically my last step in painting a helmet was Rn'B. I think most people Rn'B first though.

As for installing the visor. I tried something for the first time on this one and I think I like it over anything else I've ever tried. I got some 6-32 anchors, some 6-32 flat head screws, and some 6-32 acorn nuts (all found at Lowes). First I cut half the anchor stem off. I then threaded the screw through the bottom of the anchor. I put the acorn nut on the screw to where it bottomed out. I threaded the anchor to the acorn nut. I turned the anchor upside down and applied a small amount of CA glue to glue the screw in place. I then cut the excess part of the screw away and sanded smooth the bottom of the anchor on some 120 grit placed on a flat surface.............and viola! They are the perfect height for a welding visor when a flat 8-32 washer is used.

Hope that description and the pics help.

[AK]Edge;399471 said:

That's a real nice looking bucket man. I always have trouble w/ the taping off of the mandibles for painting and having the paint tear when I pull up the tape, and still haven't found a totally acceptable way to mount my visor. I end up usually mounting bolts and using wingnuts to screw down and hold the visor in place, but it's kinda ****** looking inside =p.

What is your tape//paint order? With CC it's different because you're not RnBing at all...but?

I usually RNB first, then tape it off after 2 days. Then, paint all the blue areas the dark blue, then wait 2 days, tape, and paint the light blue on the visor and trim around the helm, and the sides.

Pulling the tape off the RnB gets rid of some of the shine, which I prefer over mirror finish, and like Cruzer said, 0000 steel wool on the blue cuts the shine down well.

Click to expand...

lol Curse you Californites and your time to work on this stuff.. I'm freezing to death. No painting or outside projects for me.. *stares at his unfinished helmet and gauntlets and cries*

Hehe. That's looking awesome though Cruzer. Very cool.

Thanks Cruz, I'll keep those tips in mind when I either repaint my current BKBT fiberglass, or pickup a CC one from you =p.

And Nyx, I feel your pain...I live in Alaska...it's -20F right now, and it's been below -10 for 2 weeks straight. =(

Now that is a handsome lookin helmet!